Excursions to the principal mineral waters of England, in pursuit of health and information / by James Johnson.

  • Johnson, James, 1777-1845.
Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Excursions to the principal mineral waters of England, in pursuit of health and information / by James Johnson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    EXCURSIONS TO ENGLISH SPAS, 8(C. #<?. #c. There are so many points of comparison and contrast between the foreign and domestic spas, that an ingenious casuist would have little difficulty in proving, with much plausibility, the supe- riority of the German waters over the English, or the latter over the former, according to the party by which he was retained, or his own fancy. But the medical casuist should plead for truth, and not for victor}'-—for the good of suffering humanity, not for self-interest. It must be confessed, in limine, that the English mineral waters cannot compete, with the Continental, in strength, flavour, or high temperature. But it is not the most potent or the most palatable medicines that are the most useful or efficaci- ous. It is the same with mineral waters. The Soolen-sprudel, at Kissengen, contains three times as much weight of ingredients as the Kochbrunnen at Weisbaden, yet it is not one-tenth so useful as the latter. Many of the most celebrated waters of the Continent, as Pfeffers, Gastein, Teplitz, Wildbad, &c. have scarce- ly any active ingredients in their composition. But there is another important point to be taken into consider- ation. There is not one in one hundred of our British invalids requiring the remedial agency of a spa, who can afford either the time or expense necessary for a journey to even the nearest of the German mineral waters. The expense of an English passport, leaving aside the worry of getting it countersigned by the repre- B