The Humbugs of the World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All AgesBarnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor)
General
The Humbugs of the World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages
Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor)
Impostors and imposture
A quack in an inland city, who calls himself E. Andrews, M. D., prints a
"semi-occasional" document in the form of a periodical, of which a copy
is lying before me. It is an awful hodgepodge of perfect nonsense and
vulgar rascality. He calls it "The Good Samaritan and Domestic
Physician," and this number is called "volume twenty." Only think what a
great man we have among us--unless the Doctor himself is mistaken. He
says: "I will here state that I have been favored by nature and
Providence in gaining access to stores of information that has _fell_ to
the lot of but very few persons heretofore, during the past history of
mankind." Evidently these "stores" were so vast that the great doctor's
brain was stuffed too full to have room left for English Grammar.
Shortly, the Doctor thus bursts forth again with some views having their
own merits, but not such as concern the healing art very directly: "The
automaton powers of machinery"--there's a new style of machinery, you
observe--"must be made to WORK FOR, _instead_ of _as now_, against
mankind; the Land of _all nations_ must be made FREE to Actual Settlers
in LIMITED quantities. No one must be born without _his birthright_
being born with him." The italics, etc., are the Doctor's. What an awful
thought is this of being born without any birthright, or, as the Doctor
leaves us to suppose possible, having one's birthright born first, and
dodging about the world like a stray canary-bird, while the unhappy and
belated owner tries in vain to put salt on its tail and catch it!
Well, this wiseacre, after his portentous introduction, fills the rest
of his sixteen loosely printed double-columned octavo pages with a
farrago of the most indescribable character, made up of brags, lies,
promises, forged recommendations and letters, boasts of systematic
charity, funny scraps of stuff in the form of little disquisitions,
advertisements of remedies, hair-oils, cosmetics, liquors, groceries,
thistle-killers, anti-bug mixtures, recipes for soap, ink, honey, and
the Old Harry only knows what. The fellow gives a list of seventy-one
specific diseases for which his Hasheesh Candy is a sure cure, and he
adds that it is also a sure cure for all diseases of the liver, brain,
throat, stomach, ear, and other internal disorders; also for "all long
standing diseases"--whatever that means!--and for insanity! In this
monstrous list are jumbled together the most incongruous troubles.
"Bleeding at the nose, and abortions;" "worms, fits, poisons and
cramps." And the impudent liar quotes General Grant, General Mitchell,
the Rebel General Lee, General McClellan, and Doctor Mott of this city,
all shouting in chorus the praises of the Hasheesh Candy! Next comes the
"Secret of Beauty," a "preparation of Turkish Roses;" then a lot of
forged references, and an assertion that the Doctor gives to the poor
five thousand pounds of bread every winter; then some fearful
denunciations of the regular doctors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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