malady from us in every way. Half our time, too, is wasted uselessly,
for many are there who frighten themselves into the belief that they
are ill, and send for us in all haste. So far, we feel that we are
working altogether in the dark; none of us can see that any sort of
drug avails even in the slightest degree when the malady has once got
a hold. One in twenty cases may live, but why we know not. Still the
fact that some do live shows that the illness is not necessarily
mortal, and that, could the right remedy befound, we might yet
overcome it. The first thing, however, is to try to prevent its
spread. Here we have ten or more people shut up in a house with one
sick person. It is a terrible necessity, for it is a sentence of
death to many, if not to all. We give the nurses instructions to
fumigate the room by evaporating vinegar upon hot irons, by burning
spices and drugs, by sprinkling perfumes. So far, I cannot see that
these measures have been of any service, but I cannot say how
thoroughly they have been carried out, and I sorely need an assistant
to see that the system is fairly tried. It is not necessary that he
should be a doctor, but he must have influence and power over those
in the house. He must be calm and firm, and he must be regarded by
the people as a doctor. If you will undertake this, you must put on a
wig, for you know that that is looked upon as a necessary part of a
doctor's outfit by people in general. I shall introduce you as my
assistant, and say that you are to be obeyed as implicitly as if I
myself were present. There is another reason why you must pass as a
doctor, for you would otherwise be a prisoner and unable to pass in
and out. You had best wear a black suit. I will lend you one of my
canes and a snuff-box, and should advise you to take snuff, even if
it is not your habit, for I believe that it is good against
infection, and one of the experiments I wish to try is as to what its
result may be if burnt freely in the house. Are you ready to