Patients usually dread the action of an anæsthetic; the nausea, headache, and lassitude following its administration are things not pleasant to contemplate, but with this new drug none of these are encountered.
The conclusions are, then, from our present experience, that cocaine is a pleasant, safe and efficient local anæsthetic.
O. T. Maynard.
BALTIMORE LETTER.
At the last meeting of one of the city medical societies one of the members reported a case of typhoid fever in which the pulse had remained quite low for over a week. Several questions were asked concerning the normal pulse of the man. The doctor insisted that he knew the normal pulse was higher, as he had examined it many times in health. This was strange and so many members plied the doctor with questions that he finally confessed that the young man was a member of the family when he (the doctor) was courting his (the doctor's, not the patient's) wife. Of course the entire society understood at once that the doctor felt the pulse of the entire family during this love-sickness. There are many ways of courting—Josh Billings had a very good way. Some fellows buy the old gentleman a cane (very appropriate and often useful); the small brother a box of candy, so that he will vacate the parlor—and for the baby sister a wax doll with long flaxen hair—which she invariably informs the neighborhood was given to her "by Sallie's beau."
We once knew a nice young man who had been told that the best plan was to court the mother for a while. He heeded the advice and was getting along very finely, when one day he received an invitation to attend the marriage of his girl to the fellow who had been courting her and not her mother.
This little occurrence turned our minds to the humorous things of our experiences, and after adjournment of the society a number of "funny" things were related as we walked homeward.
The following is interesting to the gynæcologists:
A young married woman (without children, or she would have other things to require her attention) had been for some time afflicted with uterine trouble. She had been treated by several physicians. Various pessaries had been worn. The last attendant discovered that it mattered not what kind of pessary was used, nor in what position it was placed in order to afford satisfactory relief. Finally an abdominal supporter, with cup and stem attachment was wanted and obtained. This by far surpassed any other, until one day it "hurt a little." The patient at once thought of an improvement. She removed the cup and stem, detached the cup and reintroduced the stem. It gave perfect satisfaction and has been worn with comfort for about three months. We sincerely hope this simple instrument will be able to permanently retain the displaced—mind—in proper position. We offered it to the profession as the finest instrument yet discovered for such cases. It is not patented, no royalty is received by the discoverer, and no extra charge is made for the thread on the internal end of the stem.