in medicine. And when regular physicians everywhere exposed the ignorance and danger of this new method, and cautioned the public against it, its advocates cried out, Persecution!! They placed the name of Thomson by the side of Harvey and Jenner, and called upon the public to believe that Thomson's scheme was true because the discoveries of Harvey and Jenner proved to be so!
Thomson, through ignorance, supposed that lobelia, cayenne and other articles, which he put into the hands of his ignorant agents, were always perfectly harmless and safe; but numerous sad examples soon convinced the public to the contrary. In almost every village and hamlet patients died under the Thomsonian treatment. Thomson himself was indicted for murder, and confined in prison, and was finally acquitted because the Judge charged the jury that there was no evidence of malice aforethought, and therefore the respondent could not be held guilty of wilful murder, although the patient might die by means of the treatment, because Thomson did not design to kill his patient, but was trying to
