moist sheet" being interposed between each renewal of the bath, in order to maintain an agreeable temperature, to produce a soothing effect to the nerves, and to relax the skin. Those measures, judiciously directed and skillfully executed, are doubtless of great efficacy in relieving high fever and disposing to perspiration and healthful sleep. The cold plunge bath is, of course, not used at all in acute cases, and even in chronic ones Priessnitz disapproves highly of remaining long in it. The shudder which is felt on first entering it is not injurious, being the necessary precursor to reaction; but this bath should never be prolonged till the occurrence of the second shivering fit, indicative of incipient exhaustion.

"The sitting bath," in which the legs project over the side of the tub, and are kept warm as well as the upper parts of the body by warm woolen coverings, is by some water doctors preferred in painful and inflammatory affections of the abdomen, to the "half bath" just described.

For constitutionally cold feet, the great remedy is the "cold foot bath" frequently employed, continued each time for about a quarter of an hour, and preceded and followed by active walking exercise. The feet must always be actually warm before its use, and after it they should be rubbed vigorously either against one another, or by the hand. The cold water stimulates the circulation within them, promotes a flow of blood towards them, and counteracts the debilitating effect of keeping them so habitually covered up and carefully dry. A tendency to bleeding from the nose and to toothache is supposed to be counteracted, and attacks of the former checked, by thus wetting the soles of the feet in a shallow layer of cold water, and by this and friction combined, determining the flow of blood down towards the extremities; and, as a general rule, the weaker and more nervous the patient, the less depth should the layer of water in such foot baths have.

"The wet compress" is a very favorite and effective antiphlogistic application in local inflammation, whether external or internal, and also in tumors and other cases, where it is desirable to excite the action of the vessels of the skin. When the former is the object, the piece of linen to be applied is folded five or six double, thoroughly wet, left uncovered, and changed as often as it gets warm, and no longer fit, consequently, for the relief of the heat and pain of the subjacent part. When, on the contrary, it is used to stimulate and strengthen the part, the piece

of linen is single, or at most double, well wrung out, so as to be rather damp than wet, and carefully covered over with a thick dry cloth of a sufficient number of plies to maintain heat and prevent evaporation. The knowledge of the true principle and mode of employment of this simple appliance is invaluable to every one, and worth, I am persuaded, ten times all the torturing lore possessed by our grandmothers of old in the preparation of hereditary salves and balsams for swellings, wounds, and bruises. Against the use of the oiled silk external cover, which adds so much to the neatness of the application, so effectually retains the moisture, and keeps the adjacent garments dry, without making a great bulk of cloth over the part, the water doctors have an unaccountable prejudice, or, to speak more correctly, a prejudice founded on another prejudice-namely, that some morbid matter is drawn off by the water, and that this impenetrable covering prevents its ready escape. To the sportsman in distant moors, and others out of the way of surgical aid in case of accident, an acquaintance with the mode of using such "water dressings" is priceless; as in wounds accompanied with laceration, bruising, and intense pain, there is no safer or more effectual application. In attacks of internal inflammation in the chest as well as in the abdomen, it has long been acknowledged as a valuable subsidiary to other treatment, both by the Italian and Vienna schools of medicine, in the analogous form of huge poultices. These, like the above, in principle, are only local vapor-baths, but of an unnecessarily unwieldy structure, and far inferior in facility of preparation, lightness, and convenience, to the jackets of French wadding or flannel, wet with warm water, and covered externally with oiled silk, employed by the ingenious Doctor Graves and others.

But this sketch of Priessnitz's remedies would be very imperfect, indeed, were I to say nothing of his formidable "dry perspiring apparatus." Conceiving the old method of compelling perspiration by medicines and warm drinks to be very injurious to the stomach, and less expulsive of the fancied morbid matters than could be wished, he confines himself to piling over the body quantities of coverings, which, being bad conductors of heat, retain the animal warmth till its accumulation forces the skin in most cases, but not invariably, to break out into profuse sweat. The person who is to undergo this process is laid on a mattress, on which a very thick and long woolen blanket, capable of going twice round the body, and

turning over near eighteen inches at head and feet, has been previously spread. In this he is wound up tightly by an attendant from the neck down, and it is then turned over under the feet, and drawn very close about the head and shoulders, taking care only to leave ample room for the expansion of the chest in breathing. In many cases the upper portion of the blanket is made to include the head, and is continued closely over it from behind down as far as the forehead; an operation which obviously demands some adroitness on the part of the attendant. A light German feather bed, such as is used here in winter instead of a coverlet, is laid over the person from the chin to the toes, and sometimes a thickly quilted coverlet, with a wadding of cotton or wool interposed between its two surfaces, is placed over all. Half-a-glass of cold water is drank on first lying down, and the same beverage is sipped slowly from time to time afterwards, as the instinct of thirst suggests.

Some desperate book-worms have contrived to spend the time of their confinement under this mountain of wool and feathers in study, turning over the leaves of their book, which is fixed up before them, with their tongue! a practice worthy of all condemnation, as injurious both to the head and eyes, and interfering with the free eruption of the perspiration.

This "dry packing up" is, no doubt, a very potent remedy, and often of excellent effect; but, on the whole, it is of much less

general applicability and safeness, as well as less agreeable in its employment, than "the wet packing up." It is evidently quite inadmissible when there is a decided tendency to congestion of the head and chest, or any suspicion of disease of the heart, or great blood-vessels; and when it fails in relaxing the skin, must necessarily exasperate any existing feverishness, or nervous weakness. When the perspiration is supposed to have lasted long enough, in relation to the nature of the case, the patient is conducted instantly to the cold bath, keeping the woolen blanket around him till on the verge of it.

For an energetic patient, who wants to have plenty to do, there is no place like Græfenberg. The hours never hang heavily on hand there, as at many a watering-place; ennui is, in fact, an impossibility, as is evident from the following sample of the mode in which the patient's day is occasionally filled up.

Rise at four o'clock in the morning; "dry packing up" and perspiration till eight, followed immediately by "cold bath;" walk, and drink some glasses of cold water by the way; breakfast; rest an hour; walk to the "douche bath;" walk after it; dine at one o'clock; rest for two hours; walk again; "packed up dry" again for a three hours' perspiration, succeeded as before by "cold bath;" walk, supper, "sitting bath," and to bed!

My return to Dresden by Neisse and Breslau occupied the great part of two days.

SALE OF PICTURES AT THE HAGUE.-The following, dated Hague, Sept. 5, appears in the Journal des Debates:-"The day before yesterday, the small but widely celebrated collection of pictures left by the late Baron A. C. W. de Nagell, was publicly sold. The following is a list of those pieces which were sold for 2,000f. and upwards: A View in Italy, by J. Both, 4,400f.; Sea piece, by J. Cuyp. 18,000f.; View of a Marsh, by J. Van der Capelle, 3,100f.; Meadow with Cattle, by A. Cuyp, 5,000f.; a Family picture, by J. Van der Hagen and A. Van der Velde, 3,500f.; Entrance of a Fortress, by J. Van der Heyden and A. Van der Velde, 11,000f.; View of Elben on the Rhine, by the same, 4,300f.; Scene in front of an Inn, by C. Dujardin, 4,000f.; Landscape in the form of a panorama, by P. de Konnick, 4,000f.;

Family group of Danish Peasants, by A. Ostade, 7,300f.; the Tippler, by the same, 2,000f.; Landscape, by J. Ostade, 2,640f.; Flock of Sheep in a meadow, by P. Potter, 10,000f.; Portrait of a young Girl, by Rembrandt, 8,040f.; Landscape, by Ruysdael, 3,500f.; another Landscape, by the same, 6,000f.; Landscape, by J. Ruysdael and P. Wouvermanns, 4,020f.; a Flemish Kermesse, by Teniers the younger, 5,500f.; Sea-piece, by A Van der Velde, 8,100f.; another Seapiece, by the same, 2,020f.; Landscape, by J. Wynandis and A. Van der Velde, 3,600f.; Haymaking, by P. Wouvermanns, 17,600f.; the Farrier, by the same, 4,400f.; Sea-piece, by J. C. Schotel, 4,820f. The total sum produced by the sale was 180,424f. (about £7,217.)"

THOUGH SO many memoirs of persons who took a prominent part in the great French revolution have been given to the world, no detailed account of the Marquis de Favras' life has ever yet been published; his contemporaries seem to have been little acquainted with him; and all that is recorded of his memory is enveloped in mystery and uncertainty, owing to the stormy days which visited France at the time of his execution. The Marquis de Favras, however, made himself conspicuous in the eyes of Europe; and scarcely sixty years have elapsed since those events occurred which were the cause of his condemnation. There are men still alive, too, who knew him personally; his trial was public, and yet it is a most extraordinary thing that, up to the present time, nobody has formed a decided opinion of his character. He was abandoned by the court party, in whose cause he died; was treated by M. de Lafayette as a perfect "hero of fidelity and courage; was arrested by him, and delivered into the hands of justice, and was declared guilty of lese nation by the Tribunal du Châtelet; the lawyers accused the judges of great weakness and cowardice for passing this sentence; in short, the Marquis de Favras experienced the rare fate in revolutionary times, of meeting with only lukewarmness from those to whom he sacrificed his life, andwith admiration from those persons who only sought his death. He has bequeathed many doubts to the minds of both parties, and to several, alas! great remorse. Was the Marquis de Favras as innocent as he was said to be? or was he as guilty as some have declared? These are the questions which I have endeavored to solve by searching all the unpublished documents which serve to throw any new light on the subject. My difficult task was undertaken without any party spirit, though not without many scruples; for it is a delicate operation in these times to stir up recollections which have branded an indelible mark-to rake up those jealousies and heart-burnings which are yet scarcely extinguished, and to revive so many bitter dis

cussions. The years 1851 and 1790 resemble each other, alas! in more than one point of view, and the history of M. de Favras may easily find its companion in our days.

Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras, was born at Blois, on the 26th of March, 1744; he came of a noble and tolerably old familythe Mahys had borne the title of esquire since the fourteenth century, and had occupied the most important post of the municipality and magistracy of Blois, and, in August, 1747, the estate of Corméré, which belonged to them, was converted by letters patent into a barony. The Marquis de Favras, therefore, though not of very illustrious origin, was one of those well-born provincial gentlemen who had more titles than pence, and who at that period quitted the paternal roof at a very early age to seek their fortune at court. He entered the corps of Mousquetaires in 1755. Childhood in those days was not of long duration, and at an age when our friends now tremble at the idea of sending us to college, he, like his fellows, embraced the military profession, and set forth on his career with that gayety and frankness of heart and belief in future success, with which an honorable name, a handsome person, a good sword, and plenty of courage, inspire a young man. He served as a Mousquetaire in the campaign of 1761, and about this time he received an appointment of captain in a dragoon regiment; two years later, after the campaign of 1763, he was promoted to be capitaine aide major. The Marquis de Favras was at this period nineteen years old; he had been eight years in the army, and had served in two campaigns; but the rank of captain did not satisfy this ambitious and adventurous young man; he believed that a more brilliant destiny was in store for him, and, unlike the officers of his own age, he began to prepare himself energetically for acting a more important part. He was one of those enthusiastic young men who feel that they have only to will, to succeed in anything they undertake, and who push resolutely forward into the future, think

A person of considerable consequence in the present day told me, not long ago, that at one time he knew him rather intimately. "He frequently came to dine with my father," said this gentleman; "poor devil, he was not very rich; I can even now picture distinctly to my mind his handsome countenance, his tall figure, and his black coat, which was a little threadbare; in the evening he would always pull out of his pocket a paper containing calculations or notes of his fresh projects; these he would explain to us with great eagerness and enthusiasm."

When the war in Holland broke out, he formed the idea of raising a supply of troops and offering his services to the patriotic party. About this time, to his great misfortune, he made the acquaintance of Tourcaty, a recruiting officer, who, as will afterwards be seen, played a very terrible part in his future life. As he was unsuccessful in carrying out his measure with regard to the war, he began to turn his attention towards the administration of affairs. He devised, wrote, published, and circulated, in 1785, among the States General, plans for replacing the barriers which the Austrians had removed in the Low Countries, and at length he gave himself up entirely to the study of the financial department, which was the great topic of the day. A project, on a very large scale, for the economical administration of affairs was conceived by him, and it is certain that Mirabeau read his pamphlet on the subject, and thought well of it. Many other deputies also gave M. de Favras great encouragement with regard to his views, and he had the satisfaction at length of believing that one of his schemes was likely to be taken into the serious consideration of the National Assembly. In order the better to carry out his ideas, and to prevent the representatives, who had promised to further his project, from becoming luke-warm in the matter, he took up his abode at Versailles in the month of June, 1789.

From this time forth he was plunged in a sea of politics, and as the part which he played forms a portion of history, the rest of his life demands a closer examination. M. de Favras' political opinions were well known; he never made any secret of them. His birth, his services, his daily intercourse, gratitude alone would naturally incline him to the aristocratical party; but it is a strange

of absolute power, of the nobility at any sacrifice, and of statu quo without concession; there is great injustice in judging him and his misfortunes so hastily. True, he had not unbounded confidence in M. de Lafayette's American notions and schemes; he did not think the new constitution without blemish, and he declared publicly, and never withdrew his opinion, that as long as the bourgeois would not lay down their arms, there would be no peace or happiness for France. Many persons in our days agree with him, but it is not considered a crime on their part to hold such an opinion, and just at that precise period the taking of the Bastille, the massacres which followed it, and the intemperate language of some of the orators in the Assembly, from which might already be argued much future violence, occasioned many intelligent men to take the same view as M. de Favras. Then, as in the present day, the idea of kind alarmed many progress of any good men, because they had not a definite notion of the conditions of the new programme to which they were called upon to subscribe. They mistrusted its codicils, and the expressions which were supposed to be understood in it; the future proved, indeed, that their fears were not without foundation, and that all who agreed with M. de Favras that it was impossible to reform except by slow degrees, were tolerably correct in the opinion they had conceived.

The 6th of October was, it will be distinctly remembered, the real preface to the Reign of Terror; at five o'clock in the morning, the day before, Paris was aroused by the dismal sound of the tocsin, and everybody asked each other with alarm what was likely to happen. The three parties which agitated Paris, the Court party, or Legitimists, the Orleanists, and those who, at a later date, took the name of Jacobins, in the first moment of surprise, angrily threw the blame upon each other for the disorder which seemed likely to ensue, but before long they learned what had happened. A troop of women, and men disguised as women, had forced their way into the Hôtel de Ville, the guards had offered resistance, and a struggle had been the consequence; fresh crowds, armed with pikes, were pouring forth from all the Faubourgs, and the tumult soon spread over the Grève, the Quays, and the adjoining streets. The dysentery which prevailed, or was said to prevail, in Paris, was the pretext which was assigned, instead of the true cause of this manifestation. Hidious bad passion