Selections, Abstracts, Etc. PHIL GILHOOLEY'S OPINION OF CHRISTIAN F'WAT is me openion of Christshun Scoience, is it? Bedad, its aisier to ax that kuistion than it is to anser it. Doorin the coors av me marred loife I have bin accoostemed to raloy, in sooch matthers, upon Mrs. Gilhooley's joodgment. Mrs. Gilhooley is a wummun of vhast bridth of intillict, and has masthered all the secrets of asthrology and Spiritaalism, and moint-radin, and whin her coosin, woife of wan of the Word Bosses of Boston sint her an invite to vishit her, I tould her that I tought she ought to avale hirsilf av the opportunity av intercoorse wid the intellectooal and advanced society av that ceinter of thot and coolshure; wid the oondersthandin, howsomiver, that she was not to investigate the mystheries of Boodhism. You see, I was in mortial dred that she wud becom imbood wid that ould raligon, and get to be a macatma, or mahatma, or f'wat iver it is called, and ind her days in pious contimplashun instid of moindin the childer. Well, whin Mrs. Gilhooley ratoorned to the bussum of her family I vintured to ax her the question you have axed me. Christshun Scoience, is it? says she. I ought to know all aboot it, for I had the priviledge of attindin at the Mother Church in Boston, an havin the trooth out av the new Bible, "Science and Health, wid Kay to the Schriptoors," wich Mother Eddy, as she is irreverently called by her disciples, declares is a new rivilashun, and which is red ivery Soonday in all the churches av the danominashun all over the wurruld. The leadin docthrine, the foondamental foondashun of Christshun Scoince is the silf-ivident proposisshun that moind is ivirything and matther is nothin. Whin mortial moind occepts this trooth, she says, the wurruld will be reginerathed, and avil and sin, and disase will dishappear. Hould on, says oi, do oi quoit conprehind the manin of this new revelashun? Moind is ivirything, matther is nothin. P'fat? is moind mate and close and f'wisky? Bedad, thin we shud have a foine shupply av those useful materials, seein the vhast ixtint and profundity av yure moind, Mrs. Gilhooley. My! but it's a moighty consolin docthirne entirely Oi f'ish oi had known this docthrin bafore, thin oi f'wud have taken the wurruld asier, and not torminted meself about dollars and cints. "Whist!" says oi. "Oi think oi hare one of the childer cryin." Yis," sis Mrs. Gilhooley, "it is little Teddy. The dare boy is onder the dalushun that he has a bile in his oxther.* Oi hav throid to convince him that he is misthaken, but widout succiss. "But," says oi, "has he a bile, Mrs. Gilhooley?" Says she, "There is marely a big lump and rid swelling be in pain, for the new reivilashun, on page 46, says, 'You say a boil is painful, but that is impossible. The boil simply manifests your belief in pain, through inflammation and swelling, and you call this belief a boil. Now administer mentally to your patient a high attenuation of truth on this subject, and it will soon cure the boil.' It is a mare matther of belafe, you see, and oi have thried to insthill the blessed trooth into Teddy's moind, but still he howls." "Phwat was it you administhered to Teddy, Mrs. Gilhooley?" says oi. "A high attinuation av trooth," says she. "What do you mane by a high attenuation?" says oi. Phy," says she, "that manes the very smallest, infinitesimal amount, and homeopathy informs us that the higher the attenuation the greater the power.' "Oh," says oi, "that is it, is it? And how do you administher it, Mrs. Gilhooley: wid a spoon intarnally, or like a poultice, ixtarnally?" "Nayther," says she, "oi administhered it mintally." "Oh," says oi, "how did you administher this hoigh attin uation av trooth into Teddy's moind? Did the bye take the rimidy?" "Oi am afreid," says she, " thot he did not; if he had taken it the bile would have been cured." bye ??? had Well, well," says oi, "oi quoite agree wid you, Mrs. Gilhooley, that whin yure new Boible tills us that Teddy is not in pain, thot he only belaves he is in pain, that is the very highest attinuation of trooth mortial mind can consave. Whin the would not take the medicine, f'why didn't you hould his nos Jist thin, f'wat wid the discrorrsin, and the salt hirrin oi for dinner, oi began to feel dhry, and axed Mrs. Gilhooley she airy a dhrop of butthermilk to wit me f'whistle wid. "Me dear Phil," says she, "thot is another of the mortial delushuns the wurruld is throubled wid. Listen to the revelashun, page 384: You say, or think, because you have par taken of salt fish, that you must be thirsty, and you are thirsty *Arm-pit. had new accordingly; while the opposite belief would produce the opposite result.' Maybe," says oi, "but in moi presint deluded condishun, the mane difficoolty oi foind is to convince meself av the opposite belafe. I throid wanse, f'whin I was carryin the hod, and had nothin to ate for lonch but a bit of bread, to convince meself that I had some chase. Oi broke the bread in two, and says to meself, this pace is bread, that pace is chase, but, begorra, oi found that whin oi came to ate the chase, altho oi cud make me oies belave it was chase, oi cuddent make me mough. Oi am afraid, Mrs. Gilhooley, it will be such a long toime bafore oi can convince meself that oi am not thirsty, oi will have to thrubble you to get me some butthermilk at wanse." F'win oi was ragalin me moind, or me stummac, oi dunno f'which, f'wat's the odds, says oi to meself, oi bagun to think it was toime to ate, too, so says oi, "oi fale somef' wat fattigood, Mrs. Gilhooley, wud you have the kindness to give me somethin to ate?" 6 "Aate," says she, "oh, the ignerance of mortial man. Rivallashun taches us, page 113, Fatigue is an illusion of physical weakness; control your mind, and so destroy this illusion. Mortal mind first made that weariness.' Faix, by this toime oi bagun to get fattygood in my moind as well as in me mortial body, and oi am afreered oi sphoke rather crossly to me intillictool parthner. "Well, well," says oi, "maybe it is me moind, indade, oi know me moind is wary now, f'wat's the odds f'wich it is, let us have some food to refresh us-moind and body, or aither, just as it plases you." Mrs. Gilhooley was very patient wid me, as becomes such a shuperior wumman to an ignorant man, so all she says is to rade. again from her Bible, page 118: "Food neither strengthens nor weakens the body, but mortal mind declares that proper food supplies nourishment and strength to the human system." "Well, well," says oi, "ravaled ralegiun, as taught by Chrishun Scoince, may daclare that food does not streengthen the body, but moi mortial moind daclares it does, so plase let us have somethin to ate." Jist thin, as oi rose frum me sate, a pane sthruck me in the shmall iv me back, as if oi had a stroke from Tim Doolan's shellelala, and oi gave out iv me a howl enough to froighten the childer. "Oh, Phil," says me woife, "f'wat's the matther?" Oh, Biddy," says oi, "oi'm kilt entirely-the lumbago has got me in me back-worra-worra-oi can't move." F'wat do you think Biddy anshwered me, p. 47: "Your mortal mind makes its own pain." "Thin," says oi, "your religun tells me that oi haven't got a pain-oh, worra, there it is agen, in me back-does it?" "Yes," says she, "all pain is in the moind." "Indade, thin," says oi, "oi didn't know thot me moind was in me back, but it must be, if the pane is in me moind, for, as sure as eggs is eggs, ivery toime oi move, oi have a diabolical pain in the shmall av me back, as if oi was sthruck with the bar of the dure. Ouch, there it is again. Biddy, darlint, hand me down me dhudeen from aff the mantel, and now, darlint, a match." Jist as oi sthruck off the match, didn't some of the brimstone, badd cess to it, fly off and lite on me finger. Oi gave a joomp, and that makes the lumbago attac me again, and batwane the two oi howled louder and louder. "F'wat's the matther now?" says Biddy. "Oi've burrnt me finger," says oi, "besides thot torturin lumbago in me moind." For me ralafe f’wat did the dare creashur do but turn to her Boible again and read (p. 54): " You say, I have burned my finger. This is an exact statement, more exact than you suppose; for mortal mind, and not matter, burns it." "Oi suppose, oi dunno, thot oi was properly rebuked for sayin thot oi had burned moi finger, whin it was the burnin brimstane that did it; but begob, oi was nonplushed. Pain is in me moind, and me moind is in me back. Me moind is thirsty, not me stummac. Me body was not fattygued whin oi had been carryin the hod all day. Teddy is cryin for nothin-food doesn't strengthen me body-me body is an illushun. Oi give it up, says io, it is quoite beyant me comprehenshun." "Well it moight be," says she, "for does not Mother Eddy tell us to ixpict unbelavers loike you who do not ondersthand its ('Science and Health') proposishuns well enough to pass judg ment upon them.'' "Well, Biddy," says oi, "there is wan consolin fact, ivery thing matarial may be an illushun, but f'whisky is rale, for f'whisky is spirit, and so oi will have a toombler of poonch to comfort me moind, f'which is disthracted, what wid the lumba 0 in me moind and Teddy's cryin wid the bile in his oxther, and the tachin of the new rivillashun."-Jas. H. Richardson, M.D., Toronto. THE POSITION OF THE KIDNEY AFTER NEPHROPEXY. BY AUGUSTIN H. GOELET, M.D., Professor of Gynecology, New York School of Clinical Medicine, Gynecological Surgeon to the RESTORATION of the prolapsed kidney to its normal position, the author believes, is essential to restore to normal action the kidney already crippled in consequence of the displacement, which interferes with its circulation and function. He does not share the belief of those who regard the abnormal mobility of the organ as the sole cause of the symptoms, but rather its abnormally low position. If downward displacement of the kidney causes inflammation of the organ, as has been shown, because of interference with its circulation and function, it is not reasonable to believe that fixation in an abnormally low position will effect any change in the condition so far as the kidney is concerned. The prolapsed condition of the kidney seriously interferes with its circulation and function, and when fixation is made lower down than normal the same condition prevails, with this difference, that it is permanent, whereas before fixation the recumbent position of the subject permitted normal replacement with consequent relief for some part of every twenty-four hours, which is not possible after such fixation. An additional objection to fixation too low down, below the rib, is that compression of the kidney by the corset or clothing is permitted, and it cannot escape as before. Such compression is a constant source if irritation. Hence fixation of the kidney lower than normal leaves both patient and kidney in worse position than before. The author takes this occasion to repeat the position he has maintained throughout, viz., that splitting or peeling of the fibrous capsule of the kidney is both unnecessary and unwise, because just as firm attachment can be secured without much mutilation, and restoration of the kidney to its normal position will reestablish normal action and the associated nephritis subsides, provided the operation is resorted to early, before permanent structural changes have taken place. In other words, he believes that any case of nephritis due to or associated with prolapse of the kidney that is curable by splitting or peeling off the fibrous capsule may likewise be cured by fixation alone, without depriving the kidney of its fibrous capsule, if the organ is restored to its normal position. The kidney suspended by its partially detached fibrous cap *Medical Record, December 20th. 1902. 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