An idea of the virulence of this poison may be gathered from a case reported in Allen's Appendix: A pale girl, 14, having been advised to use Mezereum leaves to make her fat and rosy, went into the woods and used them freely on her cheeks and surrounding parts. Burning soon set in, the whole face swelled enormously, especially nose, eyelids, and hairy scalp. Severe and painful sneezing set in, delirium, dull, unbearable, pressing pains in forehead, a nauseous dryness in throat and constant irritation to dry cough. The face soon showed the appearance of erysipelas bullosum; nostrils closed, she could only breathe through mouth; febrile pulse, burning urine. Oil and compresses were applied, and after the second day desquamation occurred in large pieces. But health did not return. Debility, loss of vitality, mental depression bordering on idiocy followed; then typhoid fever, lasting fully three months, to which she finally succumbed. Poisoning has also been observed from the effects of the berries: dryness and burning of throat and stomach; intense thirst; narcotism, coma, convulsions of eyes and upper limbs were observed. In a child of four, poisoned with the berries, these symptoms occurred: Swollen lips; tongue furred and swollen, protruding, swallowing difficult. The tongue remained quite raw when other symptoms had passed away (H. W., xxii. 466). Hahnemann records this: A robust man took Mezereum bark for some ailment, and continued it after the ailment disappeared. Soon, unbearable itching set in all over body, could not sleep a moment. Thirty-six hours after discontinuing it the itching was still increasing, then a few grains of Camphor removed it. Mezereum is the vegetable analogue of, and is one of the most important antidotes to, Mercurius. Merc. and Mez. antidote one another. Mind, skin, eyes, mucous membranes and bones are affected in much the same way by both; they have the same sensitiveness to damp, cold, and warmth, and the same nightly aggravations. Nash mentions an exception to the < by warmth. In a man whom he cured with Mez. of obstinate facial neuralgia, the pains were brought on or greatly < by eating, and the only relief the man could get was by holding the painful side close to a hot stove. Only radiated heat was of any use, hot cloths, wet or dry, gave no relief whatever. Mez. affects the long bones more markedly than others, and the least touch is intolerable; but it has, like Merc., a strong affinity for the facial bones and teeth. With Mez. the decay attacks the roots or sides rather than the crowns (which Merc. attacks). The toothache is < at night, < by touch, even with the tongue, and is > by holding the mouth open and drawing in air. Neuralgia about the eyes; the pains radiate and shoot downward, and if there is in addition a sensation in the eye itself as if a cold wind were blowing in it the indications will be very strong. Mez. is one of Hahnemann's anti-psorics, and it meets many psoric manifestations. Carroll Dunham has recorded (Science of Therapeutics, 462) a notable case of deafness, due to suppressed psora. A Youth, 17, deaf since four, and incapacitated thereby, secludes himself and broods over his trouble. Membranes thickened. At the age of three he had an eruption of thick, whitish scabs, hard, almost horny, covering the whole scalp. There were fissures through which exuded on pressure a thick, yellowish pus, often very offensive. Much itching and disposition to tear off the scabs with the finger-nails, < at night. The treatment (allopathic) was vigorous: A tar cap was placed on the head, and when firmly adherent to the scabs was violently tom off, scabs and all, leaving the whole scalp raw. This was painted with a saturated solution of Arg. nit. The eruption did not reappear, but from that time the child was deaf. The eruption was the very counterpart of an eruption observed in a proving by Wehle. Mez. 30, three globules in a powder of sugar of milk, was given on each of these dates—February 3, March 1, and September 28, 1857, and January 26, 1858. Improvement set in slowly after the first dose, which was only repeated when the effect of each preceding dose seemed to be exhausted. Finally the hearing was for all practical purposes completely restored. The action of Mez. in catarrhal cases is illustrated in another case (Amer. Hom., xxi. 417). Miss M. R., 39, brunette, had chronic catarrh. The left ear had long been deaf, and the right had begun to fail. There were noises in the ears. Drum membranes retracted and scarred. The symptoms were: Excessive sensitiveness to the air, even of a fan, and occasionally a sensation as if air went through to the throat. Mucous membrane of naso-pharynx granular and irritable. A dose of Mez. given before each meal entirely relieved the symptoms. The ulcers of Mez. have thick, yellowish, white scabs. Vesicles appear now and then, and itch and burn. Lint dressings stick to them, and when they are torn away bleeding occurs. Burning vesicles on the sides of the fingers; and ulcers on finger-joints. With eczema there is intolerable itching, < in bed and from touch. Vaccinal eczemas are frequently of the Mez. type. Mez. is often of great service in herpes zoster, both during the eruption and for the neuralgia remaining after, especially if the pains are burning. In a lecture on Mez. by T. S. Hoyne (Med. Vis., xiii. 65) are collected many cases illustrating the action of the remedy. Here is a mental case (in a woman) treated by W. E. Payne: No rest when alone; wants company. Ideas vanish while talking; cannot repeat what has been learned by heart. Looks through the window for hours without being conscious of objects around. Does not know what she is about; forgets what she is about to utter; looks ill-humoured, pale, wretched, fallen away. Apprehensiveness at pit of stomach, as when expecting some very unpleasant intelligence. All symptoms relieved in a single night by Mez. 20. (I give the italics as in the original.) Among neuralgic cases are the following: (1) Man, 28, violent neuralgia, boring pain in left lower jaw-bone, extending to temple and ear. < Night, > from pressure. Mez. 3 relieved in two hours (S. R. Geiser). (2) H. G., stout, healthy-looking negro, left supra-orbital neuralgia recurring daily at 9 a.m., increasing till noon, declining till 4 p.m., when it entirely departed leaving no soreness behind. Pain = flow of tears. Mez. 1 cured permanently after other remedies had failed Q. W. Vance). (3) Mrs. X. had pain in right eye-tooth, daily increasing. Felt too long. Pains much < by pressure on crown and outside root. Mez. 2 cured (Oehme). (4) Toothache in incisor tooth in lady. Tooth feels elongated, loose, excessively sensitive, with sensation as if being raised out of its socket. Upper part of tooth excessively painful. Mez. 200 cured in a few hours (Hempel). (5) The fastenings of a hammock broke, and a lady on it fell, striking the sacrum and coccyx on the stump of a tree. She suffered excruciating pain. Arn. was applied locally. In a few weeks she came home, and the coccyx was still so tender she could not sit—only lie or stand. Arn. internally and externally for two weeks had no influence. Mez. 2 cured in five days (Oehme).—"Constipation after confinement" has proved a good indication for Mez.: "My stools are as hard as stone, and as large as my arm. I feel as if they would split me open. They come in sections like mouthfuls, and I become much exhausted and tremble with weakness. Every stool is immediately preceded by chills, and followed by long stitches up rectum." Mez. 12 produced a natural stool in twelve hours (H. Noah Martin). Green discharges according to Cooper strongly indicate Mez. It has cured a case of dry crust on scalp and falling out of hair, accompanied with short sight. Daphne laureola, the British representative of the genus, has cured scald-head when Mez. failed. The symptoms in this case were < by day, whereas Mez. has < at night. The pains of D. laureola come on in the morning and affect the entire head or whole left side: Guaiac. pains are also < by day and > by warmth (Cooper). Cooper gives me the following cases: (1) Woman, 48, had rheumatism which came on ten years before in hands from wearing wet gloves, and extended later to arms and knees; stiffness on walking with loss of muscular power, < in hot weather, "pins and needles" in fingers on elevating arms, cannot grasp things, sometimes one hand burns when other is cold, climacteric flushings. Great relief from Mez. Ø. (2) Girl, 18, getting thin, with headache across forehead, temples, and eyes, a throbbing with sickness of stomach and water-brash, always < by movement; bowels very confined; menses never appeared. Mez. cured; (3) Pimples on ankles and backs of feet, horrid taste and clamminess of mouth in morning, pimples > by hard scratching, sluggish bowels. Mez. cured. H. B. Esmond (H. R., vii. 41) cured with Mez. 3x a youth, 17, who had been afflicted with "salt rheum" as long as he could remember. It was absent in summer, but every autumn, as soon as cold weather came, face, neck, hands, and forearms would break out and continue sore till warm weather returned. Another indication for Mez. is hypersensitiveness of the ear to air. It has cured a case in which there was a feeling as if air went through the ear to the throat. The rectum and anus are the seat of many characteristic symptoms, stitches, burning itching. During stool the rectum prolapses and the sphincter closes upon the protruded part. This constricting tendency is noticed in the throat and stomach, and also in the tendons. The leg is shortened with pain in hip. Tension in muscles of chest. Pain and stiffness in muscles of neck. Cramp-like contraction over chest and back; and across front of chest. Sensations are: Head as if drunk; as if everything in the head would press asunder; as if skull would split; as if top of head gone; as if head bruised; as if head was in an ants' nest. Eyes as if too large; as if drawn back into head. Ears as if too open; as if air pouring into them; as if tympanum was exposed to cold air; as if air was distending right external meatus. Teeth feel too long. Hard palate, feels as if made of wood. Throat as if narrowing. As if food remained a long time in stomach. Stools feel as if they would split anus. Chest feels too tight. Limbs feel shortened. As if fire darting through muscles. As if millions of insects were crawling on him. Sensation of lightness of body. Bones are very sore and feel distended. Diseased parts wither. Mez. is suited to: Light-haired persons; phlegmatic temperament; irresolute. The plant flowers in very early spring, even when snow is on the ground, and it is suited to complaints which come on in the earliest months of the year. < From cold; damp; cold winds; sudden changes of weather; heat; warm food. Head pains are > wrapping up head. Prosopalgia > by heat of stove (not by other heat). Drawing in air > toothache. < From touch or pressure. < From motion. Lying down < itching of scalp. Stooping > headache. < Evening and night. < During menses (burning itching inner side of throat). Affections go from above downward; from within outward; and from right to left.