Chapter I: Part 1

DR. B. MURE’S
MATERIA MEDICA,
OR
Provings of the principal Animal and Vegetable Poisons
OF THE
BRAZILIAN EMPIRE;
AND THEIR APPLICATION IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
AND
ARRANGED ACCORDING TO
HAHNEMANN’S METHOD,
BY
CHARLES J. HEMPEL, M.D.
FELLOW AND CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA HOMŒOPATHIC
COLLEGE; HONORARY MEMBER OF THE HAHNEMANN SOCIETY OF
LONDON, &C., &C.

NEW-YORK:
WILLIAM RADDE, No. 322 BROADWAY,
PHILADELPHIA: RADEMACHER & SHEEK.—BOSTON: OTIS CLAPP.—ST.
LOUIS: J. G. WESSELHOEFT.—LONDON: JAMES EPPS,
112 GREAT RUSSELL-STREET, BLOOMSBURY.—MANCHESTER:
H. TURNER, 41 PICCADILLY.
1854.

ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by
WILLIAM RADDE,
In the Clerk’s Office, of the District Court, for the
Southern District of New-York.

HENRY LUDWIG, Printer,
45 Vesey-street.

TO THE BRAZILIAN PEOPLE.

Though the precious metals hidden in the Brazilian soil, may be never so abundant; though the splendor of its precious stones, may be never so brilliant; though the crops which the soil yields to the farmer, may be never so rich: yet there are, in the Brazilian empire, treasures of a far, greater importance, and infinitely more necessary to human happiness. They are the powerful means which this vast country furnishes for the cure of disease.

Previous to Hahnemann’s discovery, we were ignorant of a positive method of determining the use of drugs. We knew that they existed, but we did not know how to use them; and popular experience, more successful than the wisdom of the School, had alone picked up a few stray fragments from the rich harvest which had been abandoned for want of the proper means of gathering. Providence at last permitted Hahnemann and his disciples to discover the method of applying remedies to diseases in a positive and efficacious manner. The dominion of mere palliatives is at an end.—Homœopathy, by attacking the cause of disease, destroys the chronic miasms, which are transmitted from generation to generation; dries up the fountain-heads of epidemic and contagious diseases; enables the infant-body, by a positive hygiene, to resist the deleterious influences to which it might be exposed in the course of its existence; and, by preserving human life, which is the most precious capital of nations and the first element of their greatness, Homœopathy will insure their prosperity, provided they adopt it without reserve.

We admire the bold hunter who skims the sharp points of the rocks, for the purpose of snatching the down from the little ones of the eider; the indefatigable diver, who, by dint of patient toil, succeeds in bringing up the diamond from the sands of the river, or the pearl from the bosom of the sea. Should not the people of Brazil sympathise with the patient and courageous experimenters, who, under the auspices of Hahnemann, discover a world of wonderful uses in the neglected products of this country?

The work which we here offer to the Brazilian people, is not a work of fiction intended to amuse, but a serious work detailing a series of painful sensations voluntarily endured by a few devoted men, who were desirous of finding out the therapeutic uses of the poisonous animals and plants, the pathogenetic symptoms of which will be found described in this volume. We shall be amply compensated for the patience and devotedness which the composition of such a work requires, by the consciousness that it will do its share in diminishing the sufferings of mankind.

B. MURE, _Rio Janeiro_.

NOTE TO THE READER:—The symptoms in the following work, are arranged in groups of five; the figures in the text indicate the numerical order of these groups.—ED.

CROTALUS CASCAVELLA.

We commence the publication of our provings by the symptoms of the Crotalus Cascavella, not so much on account of the importance of the symptoms which the poison of this dangerous reptile produces on the healthy body; but because the unfortunate experiment which was attempted a few years ago, on a sick person, offers a fair opportunity of contrasting the hazardous and uncertain results of a merely clinical experimentation, with the positive advantages of Hahnemann’s method of proving.

A popular notion,—and the therapeutics of the Old-School was gradually built up of such notions,—attributed to the poison of the crotalus cascavella, the power of curing the elephantiasis of the Greeks, a malady which, in Brazil, goes by the name of _morphea_, or _Lazarus’-evil_. A disciple of Hahnemann might have verified this belief without any difficulty, and without endangering human life. But the Old-School who does not acknowledge our method of proving, had to remain in doubt about this curative virtue of the cascavella, until a patient and physician would be found sufficiently bold and logical to apply to a frightful disease a still more frightful remedy. Mariano José Machado, fell a victim to his heroic attempt, and, by his death, dissipated the illusory hopes founded on the curative virtue of the poison of the cascavella. Now what conclusion shall we draw from this fact? That the practitioner who advised the attempt, has been imprudent and censureable? God forbid that we should commit such an act of injustice. A patient has succumbed to a clinical experiment; let us honor the heroic courage with which he braved the serpent’s bite; let us honor the zeal of the practitioner, who persuaded him to risk a few years of a loathsome existence for the chance, though uncertain, of a cure. The unhappy Machado has been saved a few years of cruel suffering; but what a joy it would have afforded him and his miserable fellow-sufferers, if the remedy for their loathsome disease had been known! what a glory it would have been to the physician who should have conducted them to the haven of relief![1]

However, a homicide has been committed on this occasion, and though the perpetrators may be free from blame, yet we may justly condemn the deceitful science that has to resort to such dangerous practices, in order to augment its resources and enlarge its boundaries. Like unto the vile poisoner who, when his poisons fail him, resorts to the stiletto, as a means of gratifying his cupidity or his ambition, allopathy sacrifices human life, and, like him, will have an ignominious end. The solemn homicide, which was committed a few years ago in this capital in the name of science, may be of use to the world, by hastening the glorious recognition of the homœopathic healing art, in these distant regions. If it was permitted as recently as four years ago, when the name of Hahnemann was scarcely known in this country, to kill a man for the purpose of trying a drug, we venture to say that, at this period, nobody would either dare to propose or accept such a murderous practice.

It will be seen, in studying the symptoms which we have obtained from the poison of the crotalus, that there are very few among them which resemble the tuberculous lepra, and that this terrible malady will, therefore, have to be cured by some other means. Fortunately, homœopathy teaches us the method of discovering a suitable remedy in the place of the crotalus poison, which we now know has to be abandoned as a remedy for lepra, and the success which we have already obtained, enables us to indulge the hope, that the Brazilian lepra, as well as the elephantiasis of the Arabs, will soon disappear entirely, under the operation of the suitable dynamised homœopathic agent.

The crotalus will become a useful adjunct to the lachesis proved by Doctor Hering; it is my belief that it affects the organism longer and more thoroughly than the latter, and will effect many cures which had to remain incomplete under the use of lachesis.

The serpent from which this poison has been extracted, was caught in the province of Ceara. In this operation I was aided by the young practitioner who alone, four years ago, had protested against the dangerous experiment which was made in the hospital of the leprous patients, of which he was at that time chief physician. His noble heart revolted against the practice of risking human life, for the sake of a medical doctrine, and, soon after, he imitated the glorious example which Hahnemann had set him fifty years previous, by abandoning a lucrative practice, and the direction of two hospitals. Having first protested against the bite which the reptile was caused to inflict upon his patient, he now voluntarily exposed his own life for the purpose of extracting the poison, which was to be suitably attenuated in order to convert it into a curative agent. Several drops of the poison spirted on his face, and might have ended his life, if the inner corner of the eye had been touched as I first feared it was. At this day, when his suspicions have been abundantly confirmed by the physiological provings, Dr. J. V. Martins, is one of the firmest adherents of our rising School. May he live to see the error which he had instinctively rejected, completely extinguished by the brilliant light of medical truth.

This terrible serpent is found in the province of Ceara, whence it was brought to Rio Janeiro. This species generally attains a length of from four to five feet but the animal from which the poison was taken for our provings, was three feet long. Its oval-triangular head one half of which is provided with shields, shows a round depression in front of the eyes, which are covered with a large elliptical shield, serving as a lid. The body is big, conical, its movements are sluggish; its upper surface is covered with scales, the dorsal scales being keeled and somewhat lanceolate, the scales of the tail being quadrangular and smaller. The belly is provided with one hundred and seventy large transversal plates; there are twenty-five plates belonging to the tail, the three first of which are divided in shields. The extremity of the tail is furnished with seven or eight capsules of the consistence of parchment which, when agitated, produce a shrill sound. The color of the crotalus is a yellowish-brown, much lighter under the belly, with twenty-four or twenty-six regular long rhomboïdal lines on each side of the back. When irritated and during the excessive heat, the crotalus spreads a very fetid musk-like odor. The molar teeth which are few in number, but long and excessively poisonous, are inserted in exceedingly dilatable jaws. Every body knows that the poison of this reptile acts with a frightful intensity; and it was not without great danger that Doctors Mure and Martins succeeded in obtaining a few drops of it, by compressing from the living animal the gland which secretes it.

FIRST EXPERIMENT.

1. First day: Heavy pain in the back part of the orbit, and at the left eyebrow.—Second day: Pain under the right orbit and at the forehead, right side.—Third day: Dry cough with tickling in the throat, at night.—Fourth day: Headache extending over the forehead and then the rest of the head. 5. Fifth day: Smell all day like that of the crotalus, insipid, nauseous, like the odor perceived in a hospital. Sixth day: Lancinations in various parts of the body.—Seventh day: Contraction with pressure at the right eyeball which felt as if drawn out.—Eighth day: Yellowish diarrhœa.—Ninth day: Pain in the middle of the forehead. 10. Tenth day: Rheumatic pain in the right shoulder.—Eleventh day: Rheumatic pain in the left wrist.—Twelfth day: Violent cramps in the heel.

SECOND EXPERIMENT.

(The drug is taken at 10 o’clock in the evening.)

_Spitting of black blood._ 15. Prickling all over the body. Starting during sleep. Sleeplessness. Fright at night, without knowing about what. 20. Sleep in the morning. The tip of the nose is drawn up as by a string which is fastened to a central point of the forehead. Tingling in the throat. Salt taste in the mouth which cannot be removed by drinking sugar-water. 25. Pulse a little heavy. Small red conical pimples on the wrist. Painful pulling on the sides of the neck in turning the head. Feeling of coldness in the stomach, after having eaten. Sensation as if a peg were sticking in the middle portion of the liver. 30. Aching pain at the gums, left side. Circular pain round the abdomen, terminating at the navel. Two lancinations under the right shoulder, as if with a dagger, arresting the breathing and reverberating in the chest. Sensation as of a grain of sand in the outer canthi of the eyes. Burning pinching at the pylorus. 35. Constriction in the thyroid body. Sensation as if the right lower limb, from the hip to the heel, were shorter; this sensation, though illusory, causes him to limp. The left eye feels as if drawn towards the temple. Burning and constriction in the throat.

_Second day_: Pain in the inner head. 40. The feet are cold. The arms are weak. Contusive feeling at the inner side of the right shoulder-blade. Painful heaviness in the loins. Appearance of a blue dazzling light before the eyes. 45. Borborygmi. Painful pressure in the temples. Desire to vomit. Sensation, below the breasts, of subcutaneous ulceration. Lancinations in the dorsal spine as from needles. 50. The prover imagines he hears some one walking behind him. The cranium presses on the brain on all sides like an iron helmet. Pulling in the pit of the stomach. Itching on the thighs. Titillating itching in the ears. 55. Swelling of the right ear. Deafness. Dreams about parties with illuminations; quarrels, battles. Frontal headache, as if the forehead would split, with weight above the eyes, especially at night. Pain in the stomach extending to the navel. 60. Weariness of the arms and lower limbs. Smarting in the nostrils. _Cutting sensations all round the eyeball as if cut out with a penknife._ Pain in the left cheek. Sweat and debility after eating. 65. Greenish spitting in the morning. Sensation in the head, as if some living being were walking about in a circle. Shocks in the brain so violent that one is near losing one’s equilibrium. Continual twitching of the eyebrows, especially the left. Black, bloody froth around the lips, in the morning. 70. Tongue of a scarlet-red. Jerking in the fingers. Pain in the elbow as if the bones were pulled. Sensation as if a thread were rolling in the eye and were pulling the eyeball toward the temple. Acute pulling in the thigh, with momentary paralysis in the right pelvic extremity. 75. Acute lancinations in the right temple. Very thirsty. Belly-ache after drinking. Pressure in the whole abdomen, in the direction of the navel. The abdomen is exceedingly sensitive. 80. Great desire for food, suddenly passing off at the sight of the latter. Loathing of meat. Yellow rings around the eyes. Discharge of an albuminous substance from the rectum, preceded by tenesmus and urging. Falling of the rectum for ten minutes. 85. Pain in the hollow of the hand.

_Third day._—Pain in the chest which reaches as far as the back. Sensation as of an opening in the pit of the stomach through which air passes. Sleeplessness with agitations. Headache as if the forehead would split. 90. Headache, nosebleed, and excited feeling in consequence of having been roused from sleep suddenly. Drawing-up of the lower limb from the hip to the foot, with crampy pain. Leucorrhœa. Small pimples on the hairy scalp. The toes remain bent. 95. The nails are red. Sensation as of water in the chest, with efforts to throw it up, and sensation as if the heart were floating in a liquid. Constant yawning. Itching of the tongue. Smarting at the tips of the fingers. 100. Sensation as of dust in the throat. The pimples at first look like flea-bites, after which they become elevated like little cones and constitute the centres of an exfoliation less extensive than that caused by the elaps coralinus, with a little black speck remaining in the middle. Itching in the canthus of the eye. Acute sensation of burning and redness of the skin which is perceptibly sunken in at the opening of the right nostril. The prover imagines he hears some one moan. 105. The thorax and head feel as if pressed upon by an iron armor. Sensation as of bands round the abdomen. Pain in the elbows. Pain in the jugular veins when moving the neck. Abundant discharge of nasal mucus, at night. 110. Foul taste, or taste as of onions in the mouth until it is rinsed. Burning and prickling at the tip of the tongue. Swoon which passes off in the open air. Anorexia all day, and a good deal of appetite in the evening. Pain above the right breast. 115. The soup falls into the stomach quite suddenly, and lies there like a stone, with pain in the back. Stitch in the left side when drawing breath after drinking. Lancinations in the side.

_Fourth day._—Violent lancinations in the uterus while washing one’s-self with cold water, the lancinations become frightful when using warm water, with weight at the uterus. Itching under the feet. 120. Formication in the feet as high up as the ankles. Prickling in the bends of the knees. Faint feeling at the stomach. While in a clairvoyant state, he speaks to somebody who does not answer him. 125. Feeling of fright at night. First the blood is felt rising in the carotid arteries several times; this is followed by a faint feeling and lastly by a sensation as if a valve were suddenly opened. Violent blow at the epigastrium. All his limbs tremble. Chilliness all over which continues even under the bed-cover. 130. Violent ache at the vertex, and sensitiveness of the hairy scalp to the touch. Extinction of the voice. Great weakness. Depression of spirits. Suffocative oppression and fear of another paroxysm. 135. Sensation as if a red-hot iron were sticking in the vertex. The eyelids feel heavy. Pain in the lower gums as if they had been touched by a red-hot iron. Excessive weight at the diaphragm. Continual contusive pain between the two shoulders, and sometimes slow and measured lancinations when inclining backwards, as if a vertebra had been fractured. 140. Constrictive pain in the thyroid body as if strung together with a string.

_Fifth day._—Coldness in the back after eating. Drawing from the neck to the epigastrium. Pain in the right clavicle. Weight on the orbits, at night. 145. The feet are icy-cold. Headache above the eyes, at ten o’clock in the morning. Stomach-ache when eating, as if too empty. The heart feels as if beating from above downwards. Internal pain between the shoulders. 150. The inner nose is ulcerated. He is pursued all over by the idea of death, especially when alone. He can only think of death with great depression of spirits. Ineffectual desire to weep. Lancinations in the meatus and auditorius. 155. Vermillion-colored metrorrhagia. Paralysis of the tongue. She stands for ten minutes on the window-sill, and she is arrested when on the point of precipitating herself out of the window. She rises suddenly at three o’clock, uttering two shrill cries and throwing herself forward. The vermillion-colored metrorrhagia with which she had been affected since the morning, disappears suddenly. 160. Profuse flow of tears. The hands are cold. The hands tremble. Loss of memory. Second attack at six o’clock, after which she seats herself in an arm-chair. 165. Burning forehead. Palpitation of the heart. Weeping. She plays with her fingers like a child. The suffocative oppression increases. 170. Magnetic state, she hears nothing, and again sees the phantom of death, an immense, black, fleshless skeleton; her tears and mania increase. Vacant stare. Pressive points in the abdomen.

_Sixth day._—Bone-pain and swelling of the left clavicle. Dream about a horse which is bathed in a pond and gets drowned gradually. 175. Piteous moaning during sleep. Even while awake one feels as if one were falling out of bed. Acute pain at the sacro-lumbar articulation. Loss of consciousness, one hears and sees nothing. Coldness in the back. 180. Oppression of breathing, as though there were not air enough in the house. Contraction of the toes. Desire for snow, without desiring either water or wine. Itching at the epigastrium. Heat in the thighs. 185. She exclaims several times: he is in the lions’ den, but they will not bite him. At six o’clock in the evening, another fit of mania. Magnetic state, during which she does not answer any questions but hears a strange voice on her left side and behind her; she follows it, and tilts against the doors which had been closed and which she scratches with her nails. Three very nearly similar attacks succeed each other, they are occasionally interrupted by silly laughter and always end with a flood of tears. She exclaims again: he is in the den, but the lions will not eat him.

_Seventh day._—Fainting from hunger, before eating. 190. Contusive pain at the occiput. Somnolence the whole morning. Another attack of mental alienation, she hears voices which she follows, and sheds a flood of tears. Her head feels heavy, with stupor. The humeral extremity of the left clavicle continues to swell. 195. Intermittent metrorrhagia twice a day, and alternating with the paroxysms of mania. Involuntary emission of urine during sleep. Pain across the umbilical region, with alternate sensation of spreading out and pinching together. Swelling of the three last toes of the left foot. Excoriation and pustules on the toes of the left foot. 200. Suffocative oppression. Pain in the bones, especially in the joints, at the shoulder-blades, elbows, at the phalanxes of the fingers, at the knees, hip and under the toe-nails. Pressure at the right hip as with the blade of a knife. The metrorrhagia ceases. She cannot bear seeing any one on her right side, without experiencing palpitation of the heart and a real fatigue from pleasure.

_Eighth day._ 205. Dreams about enormous shaggy spiders walking towards one and attempting to crawl over one’s person. Pain in the large psoas-muscle resembling lancinations. Suffocative oppression. A circular spot between the two breasts which is black at the upper and red at the lower portion. Hepatic spots of a bright-yellow color, or freckles on the upper part of the right hands. 210. Small red pimples on the left foot, like those which appeared on the hand on the second day of the proving. Obstinate constipation. Lancinations, as if stabbed with a knife, in the uterus and anus, especially while washing herself with cold water. Pains in the lower parts of the belly when taking a cold drink. Excessive sensitiveness of the epigastrium, which does not even allow the pressure of the clothes. 215. The molar teeth are excessively sensitive and set on edge. Vomiting after breakfast in consequence of drinking tepid water. Flushes of heat in the face. Violent itching at the calves. Small red pimples with a white tip. 220. While drinking cold water, the veins of the bend of the knee have a deep-black color. Buzzing in the ears while going down-stairs.

_Ninth day._—Ache, at night, in the upper molares, with inflammation of the gums. Spitting of blood mixed with thick phlegm. Dreams about dead persons and phantoms. 225. Loathing of food. Very deaf, after a month. She feels as though her eyes were falling out. Slight pain under the lids. Discharge of white mucus from the mouth. 230. Discharge of a bright-red blood from the nose. The last phalanges feel as if broken. The tips of the fingers are blue. The nails are bare. Yellow complexion. 235. Pain in the left side. She feels uncomfortable in consequence of having her courses, and is out of humor on account of having them. Aversion to talking; sensitive mood. Desire to move about. 240. She answers all questions with: no. Small red pimples all over. Tightness of the head, from above. Cramps in the arms, as if the nerves had been tied up in a knot during a venesection.

ARRANGEMENT ACCORDING TO HAHNEMANN.

MORAL AND MENTAL SPHERE: 1. She answers no, whenever she is asked a question. Sensitive mood. Aversion to talking. Sensation as if one were falling out of bed, even while awake. 5. Loss of consciousness. She exclaims: he is in the lions’ den, but they will not bite him. Magnetic state; she hears a strange voice, follows it and tilts against the doors; she has three such attacks, occasionally interrupted by laughter and tears. Ineffectual desire to weep. Loss of memory. 10. Magnetic state; she hears nothing, and sees a black skeleton. Mania. He thinks he will die, especially when alone. Depression of spirits. Despair. 15. Anguish.

HEAD: Sensation as of a red-hot iron in the vertex. Lancinations in right temple. Violent ache at the vertex. Burning forehead. 20. Contusive pain at the occiput. Tightness of the head, from above. Her head feels heavy, with stupor. Sensation in the head as if some thing alive were walking about in a circle. Shocks in the brain. 25. Painful pressure in the temples. Sensation as if the brain were pressed upon by an iron helmet. Headache as if the forehead would split, with weight above the eyes. Pain in middle of forehead. Pain in the interior of the head. 30. Pain under the right orbit and in right side of forehead. Frontal headache, afterwards all over the head. Sensitiveness of the having scalp.

EYES: Pain under the lids. Sensation as though her eyes would fall out. 35. Profuse lachrymation. Heavy pain at back part of orbit and left eyebrow. Vacant stare. Weight on the orbits, at night. The eyelids feel heavy. 40. Itching of the canthus. Yellow rings round the eyes. Blue dazzling light before the eyes. Twitching of the eyebrows. Sensation as if the eyeball were pulled towards the temple by a thread. 45. Sense of a grain of sand in the outer canthi. The left eye feels as if drawn towards the temples. Contractive pressure at right eyeball, which felt as if drawn out. Cutting round the eyeball.

EARS: Buzzing in the ears while going down-stairs. 50. Lancinations in the meatus auditorius. He imagines he hears some one walking behind him. Sensation as if some one were moaning. Titillating itching in the ears. Deafness. 55. Swelling of the right ear.

FACE: Yellow complexion. Alteration of the features. Formication in the face. Flushes of heat in the face. Pain in left cheek.

NOSE: 60. Ulceration of the inner nose. Discharge of a bloody liquid from the nose. Sense of burning and redness of the skin, with depression, at the orifice of the right nostril. Nosebleed. Smarting in the nostrils. 65. Insipid, nauseous smell all day, as in a hospital. The tip of the nose is drawn up.

TEETH: Pain in lower gums as from a red-hot iron. Aching in the upper molares, at night, with inflammation of the gums. The molar teeth are sensitive and set on edge. 70. Aching pain in left gums.

MOUTH: Paralysis of the tongue. Burning and prickling at the tip of the tongue. Itching of the tongue. Tongue of a scarlet-red. 75. Pain in the tongue. Spitting of black blood. Spitting of blood, mixed with thick phlegm. Discharge of white mucus from the mouth. Greenish spitting in the morning. 80. Black, bloody froth around the lips in the morning. Thick, viscid saliva which it is difficult to get out.

TASTE AND GASTRIC SYMPTOMS: Salt taste in the mouth, not removed by drinking sugar-water. Taste as of onions in the mouth, before rinsing it. Aversion to food. 85. Desire for snow. Desire for food, passing off on seeing it. Thirst. Fainting from hunger. Coldness in the back after eating. 90. Anorexia all day. The soup descends into the stomach quite suddenly, and lies there like a heavy body, with pain in the back. Stitch in the left side, after drinking when drawing breath. Colic after drinking. Aversion to meat. 95. Sweat and debility after eating. Desire to vomit.

THROAT: Constriction of the throat. Sensation of a lump in his throat. Difficulty of swallowing. 100. Sense of dust in the throat. Burning and constriction in the throat. Tingling in the throat.

STOMACH: Stomach-ache, when eating, as if too empty. Faint feeling at the stomach. 105. Pulling in pit of stomach. Sensation of an opening in pit of stomach, through which air passes. Pain from stomach to navel. Burning pinching at the pylorus. Feeling of coldness in the stomach, after eating.

ABDOMEN: 110. Sensitiveness of the epigastrium. Pressive points in the abdomen. Lancing pains in the large psoas-muscle. Pains in lower part of belly when taking a cold drink. Pain across the umbilical region, with alternate sensation of spreading out and pinching together. 115. Itching at the epigastrium. Shock at the epigastrium. Falling of the rectum. Weight at the diaphragm. Sense of bands round the abdomen. 120. Pressure in abdomen, towards the navel. The abdomen is sensitive. Discharge of an albuminous substance from the rectum, preceded by tenesmus. Borborygmi. Sense of a peg sticking in the middle of the liver. 125. Circular pain round the abdomen, terminating at the navel.

STOOL: Constipation. Yellowish diarrhœa.

URINARY AND SEXUAL ORGANS: Emission of a deeply-colored urine. Metrorrhagia (vermillion-colored). 130. Feels uncomfortable in consequence of having her courses. Metrorrhagia alternating with mania. Lancination in uterus, especially when washing one’s self with warm water, with weight at the uterus. Leucorrhœa.

BRONCHIAL SYMPTOMS: Aphonia. 135. Pain in the larynx. Dry cough, with tickling in the throat, at night.

CHEST: Round spot between the breasts, black above and red below. Swelling of the humeral extremity of the left clavicle. Palpitation of the heart. 140. Suffocative oppression. Oppression of breathing, as from want of air. Bone pain and swelling of the left clavicle. Anxious breathing. The heart feels as if beating from above downwards. 145. The thorax feels as if encased in iron. Pain in the right clavicle. Violent pains in the chest. Pain above the right breast. Sensation of water in the chest, and as if the heart were floating in a liquid. 150. Copious sweat on the chest. Ulcerative feeling under the breast.

BACK: Coldness in the back. Slow lancinations between the shoulders, when inclining backwards. Acute pain at the sacro-lumbar articulation. 155. Internal pain between the shoulders. Contusive pain between the shoulders. Lancination in the dorsal spine, as from needles. Painful heaviness in the loins. Contusive feeling at inner side of right shoulder-blade.

NECK: 160. Constrictive pain in thyroid body. Swelling of the jugular veins. He feels the blood rise in the carotid arteries, followed by faint feeling and sensation as if a valve were opening. Drawing from the neck to the epigastrium. Pain in the jugular veins when moving, the neck. 165. Constriction in thyroid body. Painful pulling in the sides of the neck when turning the head.

UPPER EXTREMITIES: Lancinations under the right shoulder arresting the breathing. The bitten hand and arm are inflamed and very painful. Sensation of swelling in the forearm. Violent pain in the whole arm. Weakness of the arms. 170. Cramps in the arms as if the nerves had been tied up in a knot, during a venesection. Rheumatic pain in right shoulder. Trembling of the hands. Slight pain in the hollow of the hand. Pulling pain in the elbows. 175. Pain in the elbows. Enormous swelling of the hand. Feeling of coldness in the hand. Jerking in the fingers. Smarting of the tips of the fingers. 180. The tips of the fingers are blue. The last phalanges feel as if broken. She plays with her fingers. Nails are red. The nails are bare. 185. Rheumatic pain in left wrist.

LOWER EXTREMITIES: Sensation as if the whole right lower limb were shorter; this causes him to limp. Acute pulling in the thigh, with momentary paralysis. Itching on the thighs. Drawing-up of the lower limb, with crampy pain. 190. Pressure at right hip as from a knife. Heat in the thighs. Sense of burning heat in the legs. Prickling in the bends of the knees. Itching of the calves. 195. Cold feet. Sense of coldness in the feet. The feet are icy-cold. Itching under the feet. Formication in the feet. 200. The toes remain bent. Contraction of the toes. Swelling of the three last toes of the left foot. Violent cramp of the heel.

SLEEP: Sudden rising at three in the morning, and uttering two shrill cries, with throwing herself forward. 205. Dreams about dead persons and phantoms. Dreams about spiders attempting to crawl over her. Disposition to slumber. Somnolence, the whole morning. Moaning during sleep. 210. Involuntary urination during sleep. Dream about a horse which is drowned in a pond. Yawning. Dreams about illuminations, quarrels. Sleeplessness. 215. Starting during sleep. Fright at night, without knowing about what.

FEVER: Chilliness all over. Sense of chilliness. Pulse heavy. 220. Pulse 98 to 104.

CUTANEOUS SYMPTOMS: Bright-yellow spots on upper part of right hand. Red pimples on left foot. Red pimples all over. Red pimples with white tips. 225. Pustules on the left toes. Pimples on the hairy scalp. Pimples resembling flea-bites, afterwards becoming raised and exfoliating, leaving a black point in the centre. Red pimples on the wrist.

GENERAL SYMPTOMS: Pain in left side. 230. Trembling of the whole body. She cannot see any one on her right side without feeling a palpitation of the heart, and a real fatigue from pleasure. Desire to move about. Pain in the joints, shoulder-blades, elbows, &c. Trembling of the limbs. 235. Weakness. Torpor. Pains in the whole body, inducing a moaning. Swoon. Lancinations in the side. 240. Prickling all over. Weariness of the arms and lower limbs. Lancinations in various parts of the body.

ELAPS CORALLINUS.

ELAPS. ELAPS VENUSTISSIMUS (SPIX.) VIPERA CORALLINA.

The elaps corallinus is found quite frequently in the woods all along the coast of Brazil, and its bite is much dreaded. Its colors are more brilliant and more agreeably combined than those of any other serpent in Brazil. Its head is small, covered with large polygonal scales; it swells behind and is continuous with the neck from which it is scarcely distinguished as regards size. It has round and small eyes; the jaws which are little dilatable, are furnished with sharp teeth accompanied by fangs that rest on the venomous glands. The body is about two feet and a half in length; it is round, rather big in proportion to the head, and terminates in a sharp tail. The upper part is covered with smooth rhomboïdal scales; the belly is covered with two hundred transverse shields; the tail numbers fifty shields, which are disposed in two parallel rows. Its colors are disposed in the shape of rings of a vermillion-red, alternating with black rings, each two rings being separated by circular lines of a greenish white. The upper part of the head is black; likewise the first colored ring of the neck; the shields of the jaws are white, and are separated from each other by black lines. As in the case of the crotalus cascavella, the poison was taken from the living reptile, not without danger.

As soon as I had determined to institute provings with the poison of the cobra-coral, several of these reptiles were, at my request, brought to me on the same day, so frequent are they in the forests of Sahy. The animal which I selected was wrapt up in a piece of linen-cloth, and, after its head had been steadied with a little wooden pin, some eight or ten drops of poison were pressed out of its jaws by means of a pair of steel-pincers, which I received on one hundred grains of sugar of milk, and at once subjected to the process of trituration in my mechanical mortar. They received six thousand successive turns. One grain of this mass was triturated a second time, and a grain of this second trituration a third time, each receiving three thousand turns.

Even while triturating the drug in my mortar, the most striking effects were produced by the simple emanations ascending from it. This phenomenon, however, is observed whenever I cause a somewhat active drug to be triturated in the mortar.

The symptoms which I have collected, are not a great many, but they can be depended upon. Most of the symptoms were experienced by several provers, and some of them have already been confirmed by treatment, among which may be mentioned the oppression in going up-stairs, the vesicular eruption on the feet and the deafness. This last symptom is of great importance on account of its being so obstinate. For pulmonary affections the poison of the cobral may likewise prove a valuable remedy, especially for the second stage of phthisis, characterised by bloody cough and derangement of the digestive functions. It may likewise be serviceable in mental alienation and cutaneous eruptions.

The special action which this poison seems to exercise on the right side, the paralysis, the lancinations, have appeared to me worthy of attention. The gyratory motions, the desire to move to and fro, the scaling off of the epidermis and several symptoms relating to the disposition and the mind, seem to deserve the attention of the philosophical physician.

There certainly exist remarkable analogies between the symptoms of the cobral and those of the lachesis. The differences, however, are sufficiently numerous to refute the doctrine that all serpent-poisons act almost alike and that the cobral, for instance, may be resorted to as a perfect succedaneum of the lachesis. I am convinced of the contrary to such an extent that it is my belief that the poison of serpents alone would, if sufficiently proved, furnish the safest and most rapid means of combating all human infirmities. Every epoch in the history of the world is undoubtedly possessed of therapeutic means which are more particularly homœopathic to the general character of the ruling maladies. Hence it is probable that when the human species shall have been freed from the miasms which now undermine its vitality, the simple flowers on the fields will be sufficient to control the remaining indispositions. Whereas we, unfortunate heirs of the chronic miasms of all ages, lepra, scrofula, syphilis and a host of other subtle plagues, are compelled to employ the most frightful agents in order to meet the intensity of our diseases.

_First to third day._—1. Reveries in the day-time, one imagines one is receiving blows. One imagines one hears some one speak. One hears talking without comprehending. Absence of mind. 5. Nightmare and congestion about the head. Anxious dreams. Weight in the right parietal region and pain which penetrates to the nape of the neck. Beating at regular intervals in the nape of the neck, like the ticking of a clock. Weight in the forehead and above the orbits. 10. Boring pain from the vertex to the right eyebrow. Pain on the right side, which seems to be seated in the cerebellum. Sweat on the forehead and nape of the neck. The head falls forward with violence. Painful constriction in the temples and eyes. 15. Violent throbbing of the external carotid. Horrid pains when inclining the head backwards; less when inclining it forwards. Tension in the nape of the neck. Stiffness which prevents the head being turned. Sensation as of a foreign body in the right temple. 20. Lancinations in the outer angle of the left eye. Boring pain from the lower jaw to the right eye, and then from the right eyelid to the ear. Desire to close one’s eyes as in fever. Sharp pricking in the inner canthi of the eyes. Aching pains around the eyes, with vanishing of sight. 25. Continual buzzing as from a fly in the meatus auditorius. _Constant deafness._ Ringing in the ears. Discharge of a serous fluid from the left ear. Distressing prickling in the superior nasal fossa. 30. Swelling of the gums on the last three molar teeth. Prickling as if caused by strong spice, after having triturated the drug. Prickling at the tip of the tongue. Sour eructations, desire for cold water, ice. Loathing of food, acidity after every mouthful of food. 35. Pressive constriction in the throat. Burning from the larynx to the tongue as from peppermint, with desire for fresh air. The food descends in the œsophagus as if turned round like a screw. At other times the soup falls heavily and precipitately, as if through a metallic tube into the stomach, which trembles violently. Watery, yellowish diarrhœa, which is mixed with slime, attended with rumbling in the bowels. 40. Urine almost red. Urine profuse. Urine red. Constriction of the sphincter. Continual discharge of prostatic fluid. 45. Thickening of the skin of the prepuce, with inflammation. Excoriation on the back of the penis, which causes a continual itching. Weakness of the genital powers, impotence. Lancinations and prickings in the penis. Weight and swelling of the testicles. 50. Spitting of black coagula of blood, with painful tearing as if proceeding from the heart. Almost constant cough. Sensation in the chest and at the sternum as if the pleuræ would be torn off, and as if the two lungs would be separated from each other by force. Inability to incline to the right side, in consequence of a very painful pulling in the right lung. Violent itching, drawing, pricking at the epigastrium, which hinders drawing a full breath. 55. A chronic loss of breath when going up-stairs, disappears after the second day of the proving. Violent fit of dry cough which finally ends in raising black blood, with frightful tearing pains in every part of the lungs, and especially in the right side, at the upper part of the chest. Taste of blood in the mouth previous to the paroxysm of cough, succeeded by a desire to vomit. Burning in the hands while preparing the drug. Prickling in the back of the right hand. 60. Pulling in the right hand, which extends to the ring-finger. Pains in the elbows. Crampy constriction in the phalanxes of the fingers and under the nails. Lancinations and prickling in the back of the hand. The blood remains congested in the hand, which is of a violet color and as if paralysed; it has to be kept erect in order to prevent the congestion. 65. A black blood spirts out of the finger when pricking it ever so little. Vesicular eruption on the feet. Pains in the knees. Pains in the knees as if bruised and contused, especially in the left knee, which does not bear contact, and where the pain is as keen as if the part had been sprained.

_Third to sixth day._—Sensitiveness _of the right side_. 70. Inability to rise in the morning in consequence of the pain in the right side. Slight phlyctænæ make their appearance here and there, especially on the extremities; the epidermis surrounding them sometimes scales off. Drowsy the whole day, but sleepless nights. Dreaming about the business of the day. Pain in the forehead. 75. Red eyebrows. The eye is extremely sensitive to cold water. Stoppage of the right nostril, improved by resting on the same side. Bad smell from the nose. Pulling in the œsophagus. 80. Violent headache, if the desire for food is not satisfied on the instant. Suffocative oppression after eating. Bloating of the stomach after eating. Pulling in the pit of the stomach. Violent hunger. 85. Pressure at the right hypochondrium. Pressure in the left side, which extends to the vertebral column. Dull pain in the right lung, worse when walking. Congestion of blood to the throat, which is caused by the pain in the lung. Sense of spraining and stiffness in the knee joint.

_Seventh day._—90. Painful pressure at the nape of the neck, as if the cerebellum had settled downwards. Eyes red and inflamed. Blood oozes from the eyes. Glassy look. Bitter, salt taste in the mouth. 95. Noisy and violent borborygmi. Stitch in the side. Falling of the rectum. Hoarse voice. Violent beating of the heart. 100. Pain as if bruised in the sides of the neck. Painful drawing at the inner side of the arm, from the axilla to the wrist, but felt especially at the bend of the elbow. The right hand feels as if paralysed. Shuddering from the hand to the shoulder when dipping the former into cold water. A good deal of distress in the whole abdomen. 105. The left foot is swollen and blue, with red spots. Drawing-up of the feet. Twitching in the parotid gland. The saliva tastes salt. Crusty eruption over the ear and a part of the cheek. 110. Itching in the ear, in the evening. Red urine, with cloudy sediment. Pinching sensation at the helix and lobe of the ear. Discharge of a greenish-yellow liquid from the ear, in the morning. Painfulness of the parotid gland. 115. Itching pimple on the legs. Discharge of blood from the ear. Swelling of the inguinal gland. The left groin is painful to contact. Colic with urging to stool. 120. Blackish and frothy diarrhœa. The urine is very thick and deposits a red sediment.

SECOND EXPERIMENT.

_First day._—Tension in the nape of the neck and inability to turn the head. Dark, almost red complexion. Pain in the urethra while urinating. 125. Pricking in the left gums. Desire for food, with aversion to eating. Lassitude in the limbs. Prickling under the toe-nails. Sense of excoriation at the nape of neck. 130. Violent pains in the lumbar region, like a band extending to the uterus. Weight at the uterus. Weight at the stomach after eating. Acidity, nausea and faint feeling. Weight at the left side of the uterus. 135. Unquenchable thirst. Feeling of coldness in the chest after drinking. The lower limbs give way. Pain in the right instep as after a forced journey. Colic gradually spreading all through the colon, from the cœcum to the rectum. 140. Sleeplessness with uneasiness. Weight at the vagina, in consequence of an attack of hysteric colic. After a continued congestion of the blood to the thoracic viscera, it seems to rush to the viscera of the abdomen. Prickling in the uterus, vagina and pubic region, extending to the epigastrium, with painful lancinations. Lancinations at the umbilicus from above downward, extending to the womb. 145. Vomiting of green bile, followed by bilious diarrhœa. Buzzing in the ear. In cleaning the meatus auditorius, small balls of hardened and black wax are taken from it.

_Second day._—Dull pain in the right lung, worse while walking, with distress and rush of blood to the throat. Prickling and pulling in the right lung. 150. Blear-eyedness. Constriction of the thorax as by a corset. Pressure under the right arm. White, albuminous leucorrhœa. Sensation as of sand in the eyes. 155. Discharge of white and watery mucus from the nose. Constant tickling at the nose. Great weight at the uterus when rising, worse during a walk. Coryza when exposed to the least current of air; sneezing. Acute contusive pain at the inner side of the left leg, and sensation as if something were rising and descending in the tibia. 160. Difficulty of opening the eyes. Sensation as if long and white filaments were floating before the eyes. In closing the eyes, every thing looks red, dotted with black points. Itching in the right meatus auditorius. Stoppage in the œsophagus, after eating, as if a sponge had lodged there. 165. The beverage is arrested in the œsophagus as by a spasmodic contraction of this organ, after which it falls heavily into the stomach. Lancinations from above downward in the posterior muscles of the trunk, from the occiput to the sacrum, attended with pains in the temples. Lancinations in the soles of the feet, while seated; they disappear by walking. Pains in the forehead. Discharge of black blood, between the menstrual periods. 170. In the morning the hairy scalp, at the occipital protuberance, feels as if raw. Violent itching in the vagina. Prickling as with thousands of pins. Aching pain in the left side. Cramps in the calves, worse in the afternoon.

_Third day._—175. Breakfast agrees pretty well, but the dinner distresses him. Very sensitive to the cold. Warmth in the hollow of the hand, after dinner. Coldness in the back. Blear-eyed. 180. Sensation, in the right eye, of a gauze having a bluish-white or mother-of-pearl color. Sense of stiffness and spraining in the knee-joint. Disposition to faint. Sleeplessness or else drowsiness, with distressing dreams about the business of the day. 185. Lancinations in the vagina. Heat in the left nostril, and swelling of the nasal septum. Weight in the vagina, on the left side, and acute pain which prevents her from going up-stairs. Sensations in the abdomen as of a tube which can suddenly be closed by means of a valve, and through which a column of some liquid is poured into the abdomen, where a violent rumbling takes place. The left eyebrow is painful and drawn down. 190. Eructation tasting like spoiled eggs in the throat. Lancinations which proceed simultaneously from the groins and cross each other at the symphysis pubis. Violent diarrhœa, consisting of sanguinolent mucus and yellow bile, whereas it had been green heretofore. Sensation, while walking, of a black disk of four inches in diameter, at the distance of a few paces from the eye. Discharge of black blood with stool, with acute colic as though the intestines would be twisted together. 195. Stye at the left eye, with violent lancination. Tickling and reddish streaks of the sclerotica. Red spot on the knee-pan. Violent colic as though the intestines would become twisted amongst each other. Bloody dysentery, followed by sleep. 200. The menses appear before their regular period. Pressure between the shoulders. Greyish gauze before the eyes, like a cloud, which becomes thicker; at first it is of the size of a penny, and spreads until finally it covers the whole field of vision. Sensation as if an iron bar were pressing on the loins. Lancination in the stye on the left eye. 205. Lancinations in the dorsal muscles, especially in raising the arms. The right side is numb and as if paralysed, from the shoulder to the knee. Pulling at the cardiac orifice, with sensation of hunger and boring feeling extending to the vertebral column. Pain in the spinal marrow, from the nape of the neck to the sacro-lumbar articulation. The neck remains twisted when turning it, with constriction in the thyroid gland. Crampy constriction at the bend of the elbow, especially when moving it. 210. Weight in the stomach after the introduction of food; it turns, with desire to vomit. Constrictive pain at the bend of the elbow and knee. Itching in the meatus auditorius. This itching spreads in the interior of the cheek all along the duct of steno. Watery saliva. 215. The viscous saliva is more abundant. Changing one’s position is painful, one would like to remain seated or lying. Diarrhœa consisting of undigested food. The teeth are loose; one is unable to chew bread. Loose cough.

_Fourth day._—220. Complete paralysis of the right side, with inability to rise in the morning. Violent itching in the left eye. Complete blindness for five minutes. The right hand is benumbed; a stitch is felt through the thickness of the metacarpus. Smarting under the nails. 225. Painful drawing at the inner part of the arm, from the axilla to the wrist; but especially distressing at the spot where the prover had been bled. Small red tetter at the corner of the right nostril, spreading to the cheek, with tickling. Stoppage of the nostrils, one has to breathe by the mouth. Suffocative oppression while eating. 230. Violent distress throughout the thoracic viscera. Cyanosis and reddish spots of the extremities. Violent itching under the axilla, and appearance of a tetter. The blood rushes to the right hand, which is of a violet color and as if paralysed. Shuddering up to the shoulder when dipping the hand in water. 235. The arm and hand are swollen, blueish, and covered with red spots, likewise the right leg and foot. Cramps in the whole of the right side. Cramps in the calves. Swelling of the stomach. Acute lancinations, from time to time, in the fourth toe of the left foot, as if pierced by a needle. 240. Quick and transitory lancinations in the back, sides and arms. Pain at the roots of the hairs on the occiput. Fruit and cold drinks lie in the stomach like ice. Sudden colic, with diarrhœa. Lancinations and stitches in the upper part of each lung. 245. Bloat in the region of the diaphragm. After taking a cold drink, shuddering from the head to the feet, and chattering of the teeth. Lancinations in the inner side of the knee. Lancinations from the root of the nose to the ear. Sensitiveness in the pit of the stomach. 250. The tips of the fingers peel off, which is painful. Redness and pain under the nails, the parts look as if raw. Biting one’s hand during sleep, without waking. Pressure between the shoulders. Liquids descend in the œsophagus with a sound like glou-glou. 255. The nose continues to swell and the pain extends to the ear. Prickling in the eyebrows, especially the left. Acute pain in the iliac bone, on the right side, as though the crest were swollen and the periosteum inflamed. The right leg up to the knee is cold as ice. Frontal headache. 260. Discharge of black, liquid blood from the bowels. Borborygmi and noisy flatulence. Constriction of the sphincter, a quarter of an hour after the discharge. The peristaltic motion of the intestines takes place from below upwards; the blood seems to flow backwards in the abdomen, with violent pain and frightful palpitations, succeeded by lancinations which prevent walking.