Viewed from whatever standpoint we may choose, the employment of drugs to relieve an overcharged colon is both unsatisfactory and unscientific. And yet there is a simple and effective method of dealing with this trouble; of removing the accumulations, no matter how large they may be; of thoroughly cleansing and purifying that important organ, the colon, without the least demand upon the vital forces, and that is by WASHING IT OUT. In plain English, the preservation and restoration of health depends entirely upon cleanliness, especially _internal cleanliness_, and to attain that condition which we are told is next to godliness, there is nothing equal to water--especially “hot water,” which is the great scavenger of nature. Strange, that such an obviously common-sense proceeding should not be universal, is it not? I do not claim to be the discoverer of this method of internal purification, for it is in reality of ancient origin, as we have it on good authority that it was practised by the ancient Egyptians, who, it is believed, acquired their knowledge from observing a bird called the Ibis, a species of Egyptian snipe. The food of this bird, gathered on the banks of the Nile, was of a very constipating character, and it was observed, by the earliest naturalists, to suck up the water of the river and using its long bill for a syringe, inject it into its anus, thus relieving itself. Pliny says this habit of the Ibis first suggested the use of clysters to the ancient Egyptian doctors, known to be the first medical practitioners of any nation, not excepting the Chinese. [See Naturalis Historia, Lib. VIII., Dap. 41, Hague 1518.] Another writer, viz., Christianus Langius, says, that this bird when attacked with constipation at some distance from the river, and not able to fly from weakness, would be seen to crawl to the water’s edge with drooping wings and there take its rectal treatment, when in a few minutes it would fly away in full vigor of regained strength. Nor do I even claim to have rediscovered this system of treatment, although it is a common practice in these days to revamp old theories and discoveries, and try to foist them upon the public as entirely new propositions. The credit for the resuscitation of this ancient remedial practice belongs, without doubt, to Dr. A. Wilford Hall, of New York, who practiced the treatment on himself for forty years before giving its principles to the public, thereby fully proving its merits.