There never was such a variety of systems of quackery before the community as there is at the present time. To say nothing of minor claimants, there is Thompsonism, almost parboiling its patients with steam, and shaking them to shreds with lobelia, and burning them up with cayenne; and Hydropathy, that wraps up its devotees in the cold, wet blanket; and then gentle, sweet, refined, sublimated Homœopathy, that starts with horror at the very idea of such harsh means, and professes to neutralize all disease with little else than the mere shadow of medicine. Each one of these systems, so opposite to each other, asserts its claim to be the only true system of medicine, and bases this claim upon the success which attends it. The same claim is also essentially made in behalf of numberless medicines which are before the public. Amid all these opposing claims many are bewildered, and ever in doubt where the truth lies, are never established upon anything, but fly from one thing to another, as the evidence of success preponderates in favor of this, or that medicine, or system. Others become the firm and enthusiastic advocates of some one of them, but after a while discard this for another, and few adhere to any one thing during a whole life. And it is amusing to see with what ease some make the transition from one mode of practice to another, which is totally different from it, being quite sure that they are right in doing so; and yet, if they are right, the error from which they have escaped is a very great one. They do not however always view it in this light, for they sometimes recur to their former preferences, though they are as inconsistent with their present ones as they well could be. If Homœopathy be right, then Thompsonism must be _very_ wrong; and yet I have known persons, who are disposed to quackery, go from one to the other, and speak in praise of both as being successful modes of practice, without seeming to be aware that they are so entirely opposite to each other. So there are some, who at the same time manifest confidence both in the common practice of medicine, and in Homœopathy; though if Homœopathy be right, almost the whole body of physicians are rank murderers, and if physicians be right, Homœopathy is as ridiculous an error as ever obtained a foothold in the community. And then there are some, who appear in the space of a twelvemonth, at different times, as the advocates of Homœopathy, Thompsonism, Hydropathy, and perhaps Chrono-thermalism, to say nothing of various patent medicines from some College of Health, or some German physician, with a long list of titles, or some Indian doctor laden with remedies fresh from nature’s rudest and most secret arcana.