A Dr. Dufresne reports a case in the Bibliotheque Homœopathique, in which he unfortunately administered an over dose, the _one hundred millionth_ of a grain of strychnine, a medicine which physicians ordinarily give in the dose of a fifteenth or tenth part of a grain. It was a case of neuralgia. He does not say at what time he gave this over dose of a hundred millionth of a grain. But after taking it he says, “the patient was seized with a paroxysm of the neuralgia in the night about an hour earlier than the regular period of its attack. The usual symptoms were experienced, but it was remarkable that they occurred in an inverse order, attacking those parts last that were attacked first before. _The dose was much too strong._ Madame B. was like a mad woman all night; the racking pains seized her whole head, and her face was swollen and burning hot.” But it seems that after all, this over dose cured Madame B., for “there was but one slight accession of the complaint afterwards: the lady has ever since been perfectly well.” Dr. Dufresne adds that he should never again be guilty of such over-dosing, but that had he to treat Madame B’s. malady over again, he should give a decillionth of a drop of the alcoholic tincture. Hahneman and his followers do not talk of these exceedingly small doses in regard to powerful medicines only, but also in regard to medicines considered almost inert. Nothing is more common with Homœopathists than to give a decillionth or two of a grain of charcoal or oystershell, or common salt. Hahneman thought much of the amount of agitation and trituration, which were employed in preparing medicines. He gives very particular directions as to the exact number of minutes to be consumed by different portions of these processes. In mixing one grain of any substance with a hundred grains of sugar of milk, he directs that the mixture shall be made thus—the grain of substance is to be added first to a third part of the sugar of milk and they are to be rubbed together six minutes—the mass is then to be scraped from the pestle and mortar, which is to take four minutes—now it is to be rubbed again six minutes—then scraped into a heap, which is to take four minutes—the second third of the sugar of milk is now added—rubbing six minutes follows—scraping together four minutes—rubbing six minutes again—another scraping together four minutes is followed by the addition of the last third of the sugar of milk—then there is rubbing six minutes, scraping together four minutes, and six minutes more of rubbing completes the mixture. But this is only the beginning of the preparation which is required. A long course of processes is directed to carry the medicine to its proper state of dilution, up to the billionth, trillionth, quadrillionth, even the decillionth, degree. For a more full statement of Hahneman’s directions, I refer the reader to Dr. Holmes’ Lecture on Homœopathy.