YANDELL on Spasmodic Cholera.



was a frost which threatened the fruit. The mercury was as
low as 27' at sun rise, a slight pellicle of ice was seen on a
tub of water in my yard, and the water in the calyx of an
apple blossom was found frozen in my garden. The fruit,
nevertheless, escaped uninjured. In a few days the weather
grew warm, and continued uniformly so throughout the month.
From the 12th of April to the 13th of May, but a few partial
showers of rain fell. Fires were not necessary even in the
morning and evening during most of this time. After the rains
set in, they were copious and protracted to a degree rarely
before witnessed by the oldest inhabitants. Fora month, but few
days passed without rain, which was generally accompanied
by much thunder and lightning. Engaged at the time in a
course of lectures on Chemistry, I found it difficult to collect
such an amount of electricity as was requisite in perform-
ing the common class experiments.  During most of the
period it was impracticable, by means of the powerful ma-
chine belonging to the Chemical Laboratory of the Univer-
sity, to charge a Leyden jar. The range of the thermome-
ter was from 78 to 85 in the hottest part of the day, and the
humidity of the atmosphere rendered the heat sultry and
oppressive. On one occasion it fell to 67' after a storm, but
rose again in a day or two to its former height with the
recurrence of the rains.
  This weather had continued three weeks when cholera
broke out. A few cases, with symptoms to excite suspicions
of this disease in the medical attendants, were rumored
through the city about the first of the month, and one occur-
red in a negro, on the 3d of June, which left no doubt of its
existence. The night following, a number of persons along
Main Street were attacked, and by morning seven were dead
or dying. In the course of the day cases were developed
in other parts of the city, and on the next day the list of
dead had increased to 27.  During the next three days
it progressed slowly but steadily. The character of the
weather was unchanged. Thunder storms occnrred almost
every day. Friday, the 7th of June, was a day of continued



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