PART I.

INTRODUCTION.

“Les hommes sont bien malheureux! ils flottent sans cesse entre de fausses esperances et des craintes ridicules; et, au lieu de s’appuyer sur la raison, ils se font des monstres qui les intimident, ou des fantomes qui les seduisent.”

MONTESQUIEU.

The author of the following pages has been induced to lay before the public the details of an investigation into Atmospheric Contagion, from the following considerations.

1st, That there prevails among the public, and especially among the relatives of the sick, much unnecessary alarm on that subject.

2d, That much injury is inflicted upon the poor patient, who is often made to suffer great and cruel privations, from the neglect and desertion of friends in a state of panic.

3d, That a great obstacle to the progress of Medical Science, is raised up by the belief in the existence of Atmospheric Contagion.

4th, That there exists relative to that subject, much confusion, from the misapplication of terms.

He has thought that these are important grievances, and that a little labour would go far to remove them. He is satisfied, from the investigation that is shortly to be detailed, that Atmospheric Contagion has no existence; that consequently all the apprehension felt upon the subject is groundless, and that the many painful measures which the public adopt, for their security, are totally unnecessary.

On a subject, too, touching such important considerations as the dreadful panic often experienced when pestilence is ravaging; the safety and ease of mind of the public; the discharge of the most sacred offices of kindness and consolation to their sick and dying fellow-men; and the progress of medical science, he has felt that the public must take a deep interest, and that he is warranted in treating it in a style fitted for popular perusal.

It must be granted that the British nation, whose sympathy is not confined among themselves, but exists for the various tribes of the human race, civilized and savage, must willingly lend an ear to an argument, whose object is, to shew that their own safety from pestilence, does not require them to be placed in the painful and cruel position, of withholding their aid from a suffering and helpless fellow-creature; of disregarding the cries and the imploring and eloquent looks of the dying; of forsaking the sick-bed of a father or a brother, denying the tender and unpurchaseable offices of friendship, and of ruthlessly breaking asunder the sacred bonds with which God has wisely and indulgently joined us.

They, whose hearts are open to the appeal of the forlorn slave, must be gratified to hear that they may perform the offices of humanity to their sick relatives and friends, without, as has hitherto been thought, subjecting themselves to the almost certain invasion of disease; that they may watch the last moments of an expiring friend, minister to his latest wants, and have the melancholy gratification of standing by him, when about to make the last and most awful change that can overtake him.

It is expected that it will be shewn, that the sick-room is at all times free of the poison with which it has been believed to be contaminated, and that the atmosphere there, if attention is paid to ventilation, &c. is almost as wholesome as that out of doors.

The air which the sick respire does become impure, but not on ordinary occasions in a manner different, or with a greater virulence, than is observed in the case of air in a small and close apartment, respired by many persons closely huddled together.

The history of sick chambers presents no instance more dreadful than that of the Black Hole of Calcutta, where so many perished of corrupted or vitiated air.

The subject of infectious air touches directly upon the most important interests of mankind, concerns intimately their safety, the duties of man to man, and even the very affections of the heart.

As the subject at present stands, the public is awkwardly situated; believing that they must either endanger their health, even their lives, or allow their friends and relatives to perish unassisted.

The author thinks he is under no obligation to apologize for attempting to shew, that the public may at once perform all the charities of life to the sick, and avoid the action of a virulent poison. There can be none necessary, and he even hopes that his inquiry may tend to obtain for many, who are yet to be the victims of pestilence, that succour from hands they love, which, alas! has been withheld from thousands.

It has not been usual to write speculative medical opinions in a popular style, but the author is of opinion that an inquiry bearing on matters so important, should be made known to those whom it most concerns, certainly, the people; and he is convinced, that in a simple case of evidence such as this, that they are qualified to decide, provided there is a full and impartial leading of facts on both sides, and there be absence of all technical terms and purely professional phrases. The discussion will be conducted on plain and obvious principles, so that the merits of the question may be appreciated, at once, by them and the profession.

The public is already informed of much that relates to the animal economy in health, through the assistance of many admirable works which have been published within the last few years, and it is not unfair to suppose that they may be interested in hearing, and likewise capable of understanding, a case relative to disease.

The community is aware that Medicine is not now the subtle, hidden, affectedly mysterious art, it was at no very remote date; and that its present enlightened professors now seek not the assistance of darkness, of silence, to disguise their ignorance and questionable views, or to heighten the impression of the skill and cunning of their order.

Its study is now conducted openly, and its foundation, happily, is laid upon principles established in nature that are as well known to the unprofessional as to the professional man.

There is no wish to disguise matters from the public, and, were it attempted, it could not possibly succeed.

The utmost care will be observed to lay the evidence impartially down, plainly, and divested of technical phraseology; and, satisfied of the general ability of the public to judge, the author will await their decision with as much anxiety as that of the medical world.

It will afford the writer the return he most values, if, by his means, less anxiety and apprehension are felt in future among the public on occasions of disease; if those acting under a sense of duty are enabled to discharge their humane offices with less feeling of danger; if the patient remain unoppressed with alarm for the dear ministering friends around him; if even one sufferer be spared the anguish of bearing wants unanswered, and if in his last hours he is spared the bitterness of soul he must experience, when deserted by those to whom, through life, he looked for comfort and support.

The author has also been induced to publish his views upon vitiated air, its nature, sources and effects, with directions for its prevention, avoidance, and correction. Vitiated air has been confounded with atmospheric contagion, has performed the greater part of the work of death attributed to that agency, or supposed agency, and it has been it that has been affected and controlled, when both non-professional people and the medical world thought systems of quarantine, isolation, gens des cordons, (contagion police,) and fumigations, were effecting the objects for which they were established.

The immediate objects of these counteracting agents, the destruction of contagion and contagious atmosphere, &c., could not be effected, since, at least, the latter does not exist: but fortunately, though they could not effect the objects immediately proposed, the ultimate ends have been served, by their acting on many occasions upon the efficient causes of disease, viz. vitiated air.

They were useful after the fashion of the medicine and charms in olden times, used for the expulsion of evil spirits, devils, and the like, which, by their natural action upon the functions of the body, corrected derangements which were mistaken for the operations of these imaginary beings. The Author has pointed out other causes of pestilence, and has given some directions for their prevention, and for the preservation of health.