e discoloration of the skin from non-oxidation of
the blood; Pleuritis--Pleurisy; Phthisis--consumption; Myocarditis
and Endocarditis--Inflammations of the heart; Thrombosis--coagulation
of blood; Intestinal Catarrh--Inflammation of the bowels;
Dyspepsia--Indigestion; Neuritis--Nerve inflammation; Psychosis--Mental
derangement; Otitis media--Inflammation of the ear; and
Nephritis--Inflammation of the kidneys.

"Aetiology:--The influenza bacillus (found in blood and excrement) is to
be regarded as the cause. The malady is highly contagious. Period of
incubation given as, from two to seven days. Runs its course in one or
two weeks, recovery as a rule favorable; though convalescence is often
protracted. Unfavorable results are brought on through complications,
most often by Pneumonia.

"Diagnosis:--Easily determined during an epidemic or marked symptoms.
The catarrhal form of influenza differs from simple catarrh of the
mucous membranes of the respiratory tract through the presence of
nervous symptoms and a more abrupt beginning. The symptoms may be
similar to those of Measles or Abdominal typhus. In each case,
complications with Pneumonia must be considered.

"The proof of the presence of the Influenza bacillus," he concludes, "is
of little value in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis in medical
practice as the bacillus cannot be distinguished with enough accuracy
through the microscopic examination, which must be a very minute
culture proceeding."

This is the final dictum of medical Science on the subject--Science
which however, adds nothing to our knowledge and leaves us still in
darkness and uncertainty, while memory brings a well known couplet to
the mind:

He holds the threads of Wisdom's way
Loosely, with palsied hand.
Why lacks he now, for pity's sake,
The grace to understand?

M.B.

(After Goethe.)

But let us weigh this long list of symptoms and estimate their
respective significance by the light of physiological perception.

The ever present fever is due to stagnation of the blood. Swelling of
the spleen is caused by catabolism of the Malpighian bodies. Albuminuria
is the result of cold in the Plexus renalis; Perspiration is due to
numbness in the nerve fibrils. The inclination of the mucous membranes
to Hemorrhage is explained by congestion of blood in the capillaries,
due to lack of vigor in the nerve fibrils. When the nerve fibrils fail
to act, the capillary circulation sto