(semi-barbarous inhabitants of the mountain districts), on the pretence of going to the war, gathered and formed troops, and began to rob and plunder, so that we were all in great anguish and anxiety, and obliged to shut our shops and stop business for fear of being plundered. Our government was already in a state of bankruptcy, so that nobody was willing to lend it money, and the country was already so poverty-stricken, that, as I used to tell you while in America, our softest time was harder than your hardest time. Being so straitened, the government became obliged to issue paper money to be able to pay the enormous expenses of the war. This paper currency became so depreciated that $10 in paper was worth but $1 in specie. The calamity of the people was extreme, but yet another and a more formidable visitation was awaiting us in the form of an epidemic of small-pox. Our Turks, although unable to defend themselves against the crushing force of the enemy in Europe, after a momentary success of their arms in Asia, had the foolishness to push an offensive war against Russia in the Asiatic domains of that power, and landing on the western shore of the Black Sea, excited the Mohammedan inhabitants of that district to take arms against the Russians, joining with them. After a short time, the Turks were obliged to beat an ignominious retreat, and there remained no other alternative for the native rebels but either to stay where they were and be murdered, or at the best be sent to Siberia by the Russians, or come over to Turkey with the returning Turkish army. This they did, being deceived at the same time by the representations of the Turkish generals that they would be cared for nicely in Turkey. It was the most heart-rending sight, those wretched emigrants that flooded our country, all of them reduced to the utmost poverty, naked and hungry. The beautiful young girls (and they are a very nice and pretty race, being true Circassians) were subjected to the atrocities of the Turkish soldiers and violated, and all the horde were so poor and sick that they died by the score, and propagated the disease I have mentioned. After passing through such an ordeal of fire, you may imagine very well in what a condition we are

now.

In all these, thank God, we were protected -I and all mine - from any serious loss. I am making about $500 a year. You will laugh at this sum, which seems meagre to a doctor practising in America, I know, but it is quite enough for me to support myself and family, and besides I am also helping to educate a younger brother of mine, who is in the American College in Constantinople, getting ready to come to you to study medicine, as I did. When he comes back again, he will be a great help to me, and give me more time to devote to the

moral and spiritual as well as the physical welfare of my poor people. As for my medical work, I like to give you information somewhat in detail, hoping that this long letter will not be a bore to you.

in America I used to think that if I returned, of course the people would be very glad to have me as their doctor; they would prefer me to the rough practitioners who used to maltreat and deceive them: but I found out very soon that this was not always the case. I have had to grapple with superstition and ignorance. Supposing that you are with me, let us go to make a first call on a patient. I must beg you beforehand not to laugh at me very much. We go through dirty and crooked streets and come to the patient's house. We have to take off our shoes at the door, and go up stairs, and find the sick man in a room closed on all sides except the door, getting light from above through holes in the ceiling covered with cup-shaped glass windows. You do not see anything else in the room, after getting used to the dim light there, but the bare walls on three sides, perhaps made of oaken planks. On the fourth and usually the eastern side stands the open fireplace. Had it not been for this fireplace, it would have been impossible to live in the room. These fireplaces are not like those you have in America, but are open almost to the ceiling, and big logs of wood are used for fuel. The floor is carpeted. and the sick man lies on a mattress right on the floor. The bed is surrounded by at least half a dozen persons, most of them old women, sitting so close to the bed that they almost blow in the face of the patient. At the head of the bed we shall very probably find a big bowl full of gruel, porridge, pickle, or almost any kind of viand that the patient may have a whim for at the moment; also a Bible, prayerbook, or anything of that kind, which they use as a charm to drive away the devils. Now let us go to the bedside to examine the case. First of all we must guard against asking any questions. The people around expect the physician to know everything about the case by only feeling the pulse, so that we have a great deal of guess-work to do. We must know what is the matter, and tell the patient that he has a headache or fever, is coughing, sneezing, purging or constipated, has eaten eggs or cheese, etc. They say, "If you are a doctor, you must know all these, you must be a prophet, or else what is the use of you?" If you cannot do this, and ask the patient what is the matter with him, all the fellows sitting there will wag their heads and make faces and grimaces, intimating that you will not do for their doctor. This is the way that our people are used to be dealt with. I think they are more to be pitied than laughed at. The barbers, charmers, and other charlatans practising here have basely deceived and cheated

the community. But while lamenting thus, I just remember that when I was in America, I saw an announcement in a paper that Dr. Soand-so will find out the disease by merely looking at the patient, without even touching him or asking any questions. Why is it that the most useful and the noblest profession in the world is so encumbered with humbug and charlatanism everywhere? But let us return again to our case. Supposing that we have been lucky enough to please the patient and his people, and have the case in our hands, “Now, masters," they will ask, "how are you going to drug and treat our patient? How many pints of blood are you going to order to be extracted from this man? How many leeches are you going to order to be put on his stomach or at the temples or on the arms? Are you going to give him an emetic or a cathartic, so as to cause at least half a dozen watery stools?" Here is another source of difficulty between us and our patient. Our people are used to being drugged this way; the most heroic and the hardest treatment is regarded the best. You will often hear them say, "Dr. So-and-so gave me such a nice and efficient purgative that I almost had my bowels purged out, and quite swooned away, such a great physician he is." May is the appointed time for blood letting and leeches and purgatives, so that gallons on gallons of life-fluid are spilled for nothing. The curious point is that the people used to this annual blood-letting feel very uneasy and heavy as soon as the appointed time comes. They have a throbbing sensation in the head, and hot feeling all over the body. You cannot possibly convince the fellow that this will very soon pass away of itself, or by proper treatment. No, he runs to the barber to be bled, and while the blood is yet flowing, he feels all right, and ascribes this wonderful cure to the overflowing blood, holding you as a practitioner not worth a snap and a know-nothing. Now, returning once more to our patient, how could we possibly venture to propose to him our pellets and potencies? The fellow will think that we are joking and making fun of him, and will turn us out. Here I leave you alone, and speak for myself again. I think you know already that I am not an exclusivist, I worship no system, but do what I think is the best for the case in hand. But I can conscientiously say that I have done a good deal for homœopathy, or rather the truth did a great deal for itself. I used this way of reasoning with my people, and it worked splendidly. I told my patients, "Now, my friends, leave off the old and nasty ideas of bleeding, and purging, and the nuisance of bulky and bitter drugs. I will try to cure you without them. Don't you think this is a better way?" "Certainly it is," they would answer, "if you could do anything with those trifles." "Try them," I said. They did try and got

well. At first, they thought that I was using extremely concentrated medicines, powerful poisons, and of course most dangerous to life and health. But when they saw me swallowing tumblersful of the mixtures I was preparing for them, with impunity, they changed their mind, and going to the other extreme, took me for a charmer. They called my medicines water of faith, and myself a faith doctor.

In this country, generally there are very few who know homœopathy as it is, even among the physicians, although there are some who, having books and boxes, use our medicines. In Constantinople, after my return from America, I found an Armenian doctor, a graduate of the New York School, practising homœopathy exclusively, with good success. Some of the first families and pashas are patronizing him. There are also in the capital a Roman Catholic priest and a Bulgarian doctor practising homoeopathy. As everywhere else, here also the regulars are bitter enemies to the new school, and are trying their best to prevent its spread. I think you have heard of Midhad Pasha, our best politician, who was exiled to Italy when the present sultan came to the throne. Before his misfortune he was the grand vizier, and a very great favorite with the former sultan. This man is a stanch homoeopath. While in power in Constantinople, he got sick, and my friend, the Armenian doctor, treated him. During one of his visits, while sitting by the patient, there arrived the physicians of the sultan, whom he had sent, out of his love for the sick pasha. Here was a muddle. As we are not in America, we cannot always express our ideas frankly, so the pasha could not manage very well to turn out the sultan's doctors. And as the doctor would not have come in, had he known that there was a homœopathic "quack" present, my friend was obliged to pass to another room, while the official doctor made his examination and prepared his prescription. After he went away, however, his prescription went away also, and my friend continued to treat him with his pellets until the pasha got well.

Yours fraternally,

D. SEROPÉ C. KAVALGIAN, M. D.,

Adapazar, Asia Minor, Turkey.

SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS.

WORCESTER COUNTY HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY. Reported by Charles L. Nichols, M. D., secretary.

THE Society met at the Bay State House, Worcester, Aug. 13th, Dr. F. R. Sibley in the chair. Clinical cases of infantile diarrhoea were

reported by Dr. O. J. Travers, in which report were mentioned, as characteristics of this season, the violent vomiting which ushers in the attack, and the morning aggravation of the stools. He had used Aethusa and Ipec., followed by Pod. or Crot. Tig., but had found that Ars. cured the greatest number of cases. He also reported three cases of Tinea Capitis, in which, after failure of internal remedies, Iris cerate applied externally caused rapid improvement. Dr. L. B. Nichols then read a paper on Hemiplegia, giving cases from practice illustrative of its different causes and forms. In his treatment he found Arnica, Rhus, and Nux most beneficial. Dr. Whittier believed that the absorbent power of Arnica, spoken of in the paper as well as in other reports, was really the curative power of nature and not the medicinal effect of the remedy at all. Cases were mentioned by different members which seemed to be improved by medicine more rapidly than the ordinary workings of nature could account for. A committee was appointed by the chair to draw up resolutions upon the death of Dr. Howe. Ths following were presented and adopted:

Whereas, This society, through divine dispensation, has been deprived of one of its members, L. G. Howe, M. D., a most promising young physician, one who was an earnest worker and stanch believer in the principles of homoeopathy, a man who speedily gained the confidence of all with whom he came in contact, and who seemed destined to attain a high position in our ranks, therefore

Resolved, That we extend to his parents our sincere and heartfelt sympathy in their bereavement. While we feel so sensibly the loss to the profession, our society, and this community, we realize more fully their sorrow.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to his family, entered upon our records, and published in the local papers.

FRANCIS BRICK,

L. B. NICHOLS,
J. M. BARTON,

Committee.

At the afternoon session a paper was read by Dr. J. M. Barton upon Intermittent Fever. The miasm originates generally in marshy or newly turned land, and spreads in every direction horizontally, unless affected by wind currents. The writer considers the increase of this disease due partly to the clearing of the land in so many localities, and predicted its approach to this region in a few years for the same reaHe said that the cachexia was permanent and was said by some writers to increase with advancing years. He believed that the statements of physicians were unreliable when they promised cures by high potencies, with immunity from future attacks even after a new exposure; and although he found the thirtieth potency most useful to cure present attacks, he believed fresh exposure would and must necessarily cause more trouble.

son.

After further discussion, the meeting was adjourned.