criminals was "Dr." Thomas Neill, alias Cream, an American M. D., who was executed for the murder by strychnin of Matilda Clover, besides being accused of the murder of three other women.

DUTCH SUPERSTITIONS.

A writer in Janus cóntributes a series of interesting articles on Dutch Superstitions and Folk Lore, from which we learn that a great many of the popular beliefs current in Holland today are of very ancient date, and moreover are very similar to those found in other countries. For instance, the old saying that children could not be born till the coming in of the tide is in full force among the inhabitants along the Dutch coast, and the virtues of a child's caul are still an article of faith, while the numerous ways of foretelling the sex of the unborn child, which are common among Dutch mothers, have been in use for many centuries among the women of other nations.

The idea that if the face of the expectant mother is free from spots she will give birth to a son comes down from the Greeks and Romans, and the belief that the time of the preceding child's birth determined the sex of the coming one is still common in Ireland and the Ardennes, where it is yet believed that a son will be born if his elder brother or sister came to this great stage of fools when the moon was on the increase, and a daughter if it arrived when the moon was on the wane.

Another ancient method, still in use among the Malays of Sumatra, of settling the sex question, is for the mother, at the commencement of milk secretion, to drop some milk into a little water. If the milk dissolves immediately, she may expect a girl baby, but if it remains as it is for a little while, Ishe will be delivered of a son. If the child dies before it is weaned, the flow of milk is stopped by laying its little

shirt on the mother's breast, a practice still found in Hungary.

There are all sorts of ways to cure sore and inflamed nipples. Some take the form of plasters and ointments, such as the leaves of a white lily soaked in brandy, lily bulbs which have been standing in oil, or an embrocation made of fænum græcum, a medicine which was well known to the ancients, and is mentioned by Dioscorides and other old writers. There are other and ruder methods, however, which are regarded as equally efficacious, such as the application of hemp drenched in tar, of a newly worn woolen nightcap of the husband's a wet dish-cloth, or even a young dog which had been cut open while still alive and laid upon the woman's breasts.

All sorts of charms and superstitions still prevail in Holland with regard to the cure or prevention of different diseases and disorders. Headache, for example, is cured by the application of a slice of lemon peel, or raw potato, a piece of red cabbage or even of tin-foil to the temples; while he who never cuts his nails except upon a Friday hides them in a hole in a hollow tree, carries a cow's tooth in his pocket, a bag of indigo or hempseed in his hat, or a fresh sheep's spleen in his nightcap is considered immune from this distressing complaint. Mistletoe which has grown upon an oak tree, and has been infused in red wine, is a sovereign remedy for apoplexy, convulsions, worms, lameness and epilepsy. The last named disease is still treated as it was in the Middle Ages, with human blood, elk's claw, crab's eye, peony root, linden blossom, rue and the placenta of a first birth, all of which are likewise used for any kind of fits. Another remedy is for the patient to eat the heart of a mole, a roasted mouse, or to drink the blood of a white duck while eggs which have been laid on Maundy Thursday and are beaten up

with the shell, are efficacious not only in cases of falling sickness, but also of can

cer.

The ancient faith in the Three Kings as protectors against epilepsy is still very strong. Another means of preventing epileptic attacks is never to eat flesh from the head of any animal, while in Limburg and Brabant it is quite common to find people wearing the prayer of Charles V. as a charm against this dis

ease.

This prayer, the original of which was found on the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, is said to have been sent to the Emperor by the Pope as a safeguard in war. The magpie is considered most efficacious not only in cases of epilepsy but also for gout in the joints, madness, melancholia and diseases of the eye. The latter are likewise cured by the application of saliva (some forty years ago dogs were used to lick diseased eyes, a practice happily gone out), urine, and woman's milk, as well as by different kinds of water, such as March snowwater, dew gathered on Christmas night and the water from Lourdes and other holy wells.

Water from the well of St. Willebrord, near Heiloo, in North Brabant, is especially efficacious when drawn before seven o'clock in the morning, and its healing properties are at their best on Maundy Thursday. Infusions of celandine, chickweed and speedwell are also largely used for eye troubles. Boiled mouse is regarded as a cure for enuresis; it is mentioned by Pliny, who says, "Urina infantium cohibetur muribus elixis in cibo dates." Another cure for the same complaint is the taking of Porcellio scaber, which the ruder Dutchmen vulgarly call "piss-a-bed," in porridge.

WHO HAS THE BABY?

A doctor's wife, in a communication to The Mirror, puts in a strong and timely word for the part which "mere man" plays in the birth of the baby.

Referring to an editorial in The Mirror in which Dr. Eliot was taken to task for his "baby every two years" advice, on the ground that Dr. Eliot is a man, and men don't have to "have babies,"" this correspondent says:

"That was a great stroke, your comment on President Eliot's idea of a baby every two years for women. Your women readers all settled back most complacently, self-satisfied, I know, on reading it, but-the men do have the babies.

"From the very beginning of the order for a baby, the husband's martyrdom begins. He must never lose his temper. He must be all gentleness, all patience. Wife must not be worried while she is busy with her baby. It may be her soul is no larger than a pin-head, she may be a naturally born nagger, yet she is not expected to try to overcome it. She is allowed to revel in all her petty tempers and meannesses. The hired girls may leave, the rest of the family retire to solitude, but father must stand by, for isn't he the cause of it all?

"Who is it has nervous prostration, all by himself with no coddling, when the baby comes? Father. It isn't all a joke, the little facetious local notice, 'Father is doing well.' In the ladies' magazines, father is out on the lawn smoking like a burnt-out bonfire, or pacing the gallery, only stopping to inquire if all is well, but in real life father is on the spot, helping the doctor, cussing the nurse and encouraging and soothing the wife. In a few days, wife and baby, beruffled, beribboned and sacheted, are blissfully receiving admiring relatives and friends; nothing to do but just be congratulated on the wonder of wonders. Father gets some good-natured chaffing and cuts an extra hole in his galluses, hitches up a little tighter and goes on 'having the baby' until she is grown, educated and married or until son has been saved from the penitentiary

MANAGING PATIENTS.

BY C. N. JOHNSON, M. A., L. D. S., D. D. S., Chicago, Ill., in the Dental Era. [Although this article is written by a dentist for dentists, it applies equally to physicians. One only has to substitute the name and work of the doctor for that of the dentist to make it a practical sermon to the medical man.]

The Management of Children.

To be successful in the management of children means a great deal in the maintenance of a satisfactory and permanent practice. The children of today make the patients of a few years hence, and if a practitioner has the tact and patience to control children from the time they first come to him till they grow to years of accountability he can then have a class of practice built upon the lines of his own choosing and of a character to harmonize best with his individual preference. There is nothing more interesting in life than to watch. the development of a child and study the various manifestations of characterbuilding as exemplified in their attitude. towards one with whom they brought into close relationship as the dentist. Child study is always instructive, and it is doubly so when conducted from the point of view of a professional association. The dentist should early aim to understand his little patients, to gain their confidence and enlist their sympathy with whatever he attempts to accomplish for them. If he really loves children and always treats them in a frank and cordial manner, he

are

will in turn receive at their hands a reciprocal attachment which eventually will prove one of the greatest inspirations to high professional endeavor. The implicit confidence of a child is no small thing to attain, and he who has this is not altogether bereft of satisfaction in the conduct of his affairs.

The first thing to learn in the management of children is not to deceive them. He should aim to avoid giving pain to a child whenever possible; but if it is found necessary to inflict pain in an operation, the child should never be promised that there will be no pain. The magnitude of the hurt must of course not be exaggerated in advance. In fact, it is best ordinarily to make light of it and place the best possible construction on it. It is usually well to say to the child that the dentist can not always tell precisely whether an operation will hurt or not, but that if it does hurt a little, the child may be sure that the dentist will be very careful about it and not hurt in the slightest degree more than is necessary. But to promise that it shall not hurt, and thereby gain the little patient's consent to an operation which in the nature of it must give pain, is an abominable subterfuge which reacts on the dentist and raises a suspicion in the child's mind which subsequent years are powerless to efface. Different children require different methods to manage them, and with some especially obstinate and unreasonable children it may at times be necessary to employ force in accomplishing the end, but ordinarily a little tact will win the day. With most children an adroit appeal to their manhood or womanhood will work marvels. The child-mind is wonderfully susceptible to praise and encouragement, and a word which touches their pride will go far towards nerving them up to an operation.

No attitude should ever be taken to

ward a child except one of extreme kind

ness.

Even if it becomes necessary to coerce a child into an operation, it should be done in the kindliest manner, and never with a display of temper; and if an issue has arisen whereby the child has been compelled to submit against his will, the dentist should take great pains to so soothe his feelings subsequently by a kindly encouraging interest in his welfare that the child will leave the office without harboring any resentment. It is sometimes astonishing how a stubborn child will yield to a gentle reasoning and a cordial show of kindness. immediately following a contention in which the dentist has come out master of the situation. Kindness is very soothing under these circumstances, and it also proves to the child that, after all, the dentist is a good friend, and if he does hurt, it is only because of necessity and solely for the patients' good.

But it is best if possible to avoid giving much pain to children. Usually palliative measures are preferable wheneven they can be made effective, particularly till the little patient has grown accustomed to the dentist and has been led up by a skillful system of management to the point where a reasonable amount of pain will be tolerated without protest. The first visit of a child to the office is usually a momentous occasion, and except the most urgent necessity no pain should ever be given at this time. The child, if timid, should be entertained in such a way that so far as the personal element is concerned there is no fear. It is frequently well to make the first examination without putting the little tot in the chair, and if the child is very young, it is usually best to have the mother or nurse hold it in her lap. Then when the first mere glance is had something complimentary should be said, and if the child is not too timid he should pat the little round cheek in a friendly

way, and the ice is broken once for all so far as that child is concerned. The gentle touch of the human hand has a wonderful effect on a child, and a demonstrated tenderness on the part of the dentist at this first visit influences largely his subsequent success with the little patient.

It is sometimes marvelous what children will bear in the way of pain without protest if perfect confidence has been established and an appeal is made to their pride. A case in point is worth recording as illustrative of what may be accomplished with an apparently wayward child by a little tact. A lady walked into the writer's office one day leading a crying child. The little girl was in the saddest distress imaginable, and the mother was out of sorts and irritated by the evident contention over the visit. Said the mother: "Doctor, I don't know whether you can do anything with this child or not; but she has worn us all out with the toothache, I have finally forced her to come and see if you can stop the pain. She is the most wayward child I ever saw, and I am utterly exhausted with her."

I saw at a glance that the case between the mother and the child was in its acute stage, and that counter-irritation was not indicated for either. I approached the little girl, and said, gently: "Well, dearie, let me see what the trouble is." Instantly she dropped her mother's hand and looked up at me with such an expression of relief and confidence on that little tearful face of hers that I said: "Why bless your heart, you and I are not going to have any difficulty, are we?"

"Well," the mother snapped out impetuously, "if you can manage her, you are the first one I ever saw who could. She's the "

But I stopped her with a gesture, and asked her if she had some shopping to do or anything to occupy her for the

next half-hour. She was quick-witted enough to take the hint, and I soon had the little girl to myself in the office. The moment the mother was out of the the room the tears began to dry and sobbing to cease, and in a very few minutes the little patient was perched up in the chair showing me the tooth that ached. She was one of those delicate, sensitive, high-strung little creatures, susceptible to kindly treatment, but instantly rebellious against anything harsh, and, unfortunately, mother and child did not understand each other. I treated her with utmost tenderness and managed to relieve the pain with little. discomfort. By the time the inother returned she was the brightest little midget imaginable, and the mother said: "Dear me, I guess you have hypnotized her. I never saw her take to anyone like that before." I told her that all the hypnotism I had used on the child was kindness, and I even ventured to suggest that she experiment on her little daughter in the same way and watch the result.

It became necessary to have many sittings with the child subsequently, and as her teeth were extremely sensitive, some of these sittings were painful, but never at any time did I hear a protest from her, nor was she ever reluctant to take the chair. I have seen her sit through an operation when at times the tears would course down her cheeks, and my only answer upon expressing sympathy for her was a bright smile bursting through the tears. What a wondrous mentality there is wrapped up in a sensitive child, and what a sacred trust it is for those to whom the care of such children is committed that they study carefully the myriad mainsprings of motive behind every act and thereby learn to bring out the best there is in this tiny "bundle of possibilities."

To the dentist it is given to accom

plish great good with such children on account of the close relationship existing between patient and practitioner; and no man can make a careful and continued observation of child-life in this connection without thereby being made vastly better himself. The results will repay a thousand times for the effort.

ELIMINATION OF REFRACTIVE
ERRORS.

As stated, every condition of ametropia is inherently attended by muscular imbalance, hence by the time the patient comes to the refractionist a part of the muscular trouble has become permanent, due to anatomical changes in the muscle, and a part of it is still an integral factor in the ametropia. After testing the amount of imbalance in the unaided eye, therefore, the operator should correct the error of refraction with appropriate lenses, and make another test, subtracting the result of the second test from that of the first to find the net amount of permanent imbalance which needs

treatment.

Treatment of Imbalance.

If the degree of hetrophoria is slight it is usually sufficient to correct the error of refraction, and when this cause of the trouble is removed the muscle will right itself. In severer cases, however, a course of optic exercises must be carried out, with prisms base in or base out as the case may demand, and as indicated by what has already been said. These exercises should be nicely graduated, and carefully supervised by the refractionist, and need to be persisted in with great constancy and patience. In cases of convergent imbalance the results are usually very satisfactory; in divergent imbalance they are less encouraging as there is no known stimulus for the unilateral contraction of the external rectus.