PULMONARY CONSUMPTION, DR. LONG, AND THE LITERARY GAZETTE.
DR. JOHNSON TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR.—LETTER t.
Sin,—When it is considered that at least SIXTY THOUSAND British subjects are annually immolated at the shrine of Pulmonary Consumption, in these isles; and that five times that number think themselves, or are thought to be, consumptive,—when we reflect further, that confirmed consumption is gene- rally deemed incurable by the most experienced practitioners,—then it must surely be hailed as a double blessing, the possession of two such men as Dr. Long, of Harley-street, and the Editor of the Literary Gazette; the former of whom promises to cure consumption, while the latter vouches for the ac- tual performance of the cures. I should not, Sir, have ventured to disturb these halcyon prospects of the hectic breast—to tear aside the friendly veil that conceals the opening grave—or blast the fond hopes of parent, sister, friend,—had I not had several opportunities of witnessing the (Effusion of the most unblushing falsehoods, the most gross deception, on this polo. th rough the medium of the press. That a drowning man should catch at straws, or that a dying patient should cling to false hopes and flattering promises, is neither surprising nor censurable ; but that a man so ignorant of the human fabric and its diseases (a painter by trade) as not to be able to tell a nerve from a muscle—a fever from a fractured skull—should persuade the public that he can cure diseases that are beyond the power of the ablest physicians, is a fact not very flattering to the " march of intellect" in these enlightened times. The deception has been kept up by the furious advocacy of two weekly journals, the Literary Gazette and the John Bull newspaper ; the former of which has published certain documents and vouchers respecting Dr. Long's cures, that are most outrageously false, as I shall immediately prove. A few weeks ago, I published, in a Medical Journal which I conduct, some particulars of a Mr. Donn, of Kensington, whom Dr. Long first persuaded that he was in a consumption, and next that he was cured of it. The patient never had consumption ; and the complaint which Dr. Long mistook for con- sumption is not cured. I have given the name, because individual feelings must give way to the public good. Any medical man may convince himself of the truth of this statement by an actual examination. For this detection I have been abused by the Literary Gazette; the Editor of which paper ex- amined Mr. Donn, and insists that he had consumption, and that he is now nearly cured of that disease ! In his zeal to overpower me with testimonials of Dr. Long's miraculous cures, the Editor has now put forth a document that will completely damn his protege. Let us hear it from his own lips.
EXTRACT.
" A physician (Dr. M.) of great practice and experience, having carefully exa- mined Mr. Long's proceedings, writes to a friend, who had asked his opinion, and was a patient of Mr. Long's. After some very sensible remarks on the impossibility of restoring those whose strength and stamina are so completely exhausted as to leave nothing to act upon, it must be conceded (says Dr. M.) where those of the highest professional information and taleffts have failed to render any benefit, Mr. Long has been extraordinarily and wonderfully successful. Witness the cases of Miss E—, Miss H--, the Rev. Mr. N—, Mr. Y—, and a host of others. In all these instances, extreme emaciation, hectic fever, purulent expecto- ration, and the frightful train of symptoms usually indicative of tuberculated lungs, and the approach of death, were present, but, as you already know' removed by the means employed by Mr. Long : thereby conferring on them a character and value, far beyond what the remedial measures usually prescribed by the more regu- larly initiated in the profession are entitled to.' "—Lit. Gaz. Sept. 20, 1828.
Now, Sir, this physician of great experience, is a surgeon of an Irish militia regiment—or rather WAS in that capacity ; and his knowledge, dis- crimination, and veracity, will appear very striking, when I assert, beyond the fear of contradiction, that in one of the four cases above-mentioned (in initials) the patient is at this moment (25111 September) under my care for pulmonary consumption, having a large excavation or ulcer in the right lung, with purulent expectoration, &c. though he is vouched for as cured by Dr. M. If this statement, which cannot be contradicted by the Editor of the Literary Gazette or Dr. Long, does not open the eyes of the public to the system of decepticm now carrying on, I know not what will. But this is not all. The Editor of the Gazette adds a note, as from himself, running thus :— " We would ask if the following documents, from many testimonies voluntarily and gratefully offered to us as publie journalists by the parties, are not our sufficient warrant for what we have said ? The Rev, MR. N. declares that his lungs were de- cidedly in a tuberculated state, &c. describing the worst symptoms."—Literary Gazette.
Well! would not the above imply that Mr. N. was cured ? Most un- doubtedly it would! I this very day (25th September) examined Mr. N. His lungs are ulcerated ; his bowels are in a state approaching to ulceration from the animal food given him by Dr. Long ; and (will it be believed ?) he never sent any such document as the above to the editor of the Literary Gazette.
In my next letter I shall bring forward a strong document from that emi- nent physician, Dr. Paris, and also detail the means by which Dr. Loslo professes to cure consumption. I am, Sir, your obdt. servant, Suffolk-place, Pall Mall, 25th Sept. 1828, Jamas AMMON, M.D.
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