/ A \y\DINSCRIPTION OP THE Hot Springs OF V irginia. NATURAL EARTH-HEATED MINERAL SPRINCS, VARYING IN TEMPERATURE FROM 73° TO 110° FAHRENHEIT. THE GREAT CURATIVE BATHS, For Rheumatism, Gout, IMPURITIES of THE BLOOD, Disorders of the Liver, &c., &c. SPOUT BATHS, PLUNGE BATHS, SWIMMING BATHS, AND MINERAL-MUD BATHS. DRINKING WATERS OF ALUM, IRON, SULPHUR, SODA, AND MAGNESIA. Elevation, 2,500 feet. Delightful Climate. Perfect Drairiage. Superb Mountain Scenery. i X tlie number of its mineral springs, tbe variety of their (einpera- ‘ tore, and their extraordinary remedial powers in many of the most serious, painful, and dangerous Chronic Disease.s that afflict the human race, and in the health fill ness of its splendid climate, the Virginia Hot Springs offers to invalids suffering from the maladies in which thermal waters are indicated advantages and facilities for the recovery of health WHICH CANNOT BE FOUND ELSEWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES. r.TS'i ANNOUNCEMENT. The attention of the public is called to the fact that, while the accom- panying pages set forth the attractions and value of the Ilot Springs to invalids of a certain class, it is also arranged and conducted with a view to suiting the wants of pleasure-seekers, and families in quest of a pleasant and healthy summer home. The delightful climate and beautiful scenery, the extensive and well-arranged grounds, and the various means provided for amusement and recreation, all combine to make the Hot Springs one of the most pleasant resorts in the mountains of Virginia. The regular season extends from the 15th of April to the 1st of No- vember, but persons desiring it can obtain accommodation both before and after those dates. For information as to terms, &c., address J. A. AUGUST, Proprietor, Hot Strings, Bath County, Va. PULLMAN VESTIBULE TRAINS. During the “Springs Season” the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company will run Pullman Vestibule Limited Trains, composed of sleep- ing, dining, and smoking-cars, heated by steam and lighted by electricity. The dining-car service will be under the supervision of the Pullman Company. There will be no extra charge for tickets by those trains. The trains will leave New York at 3 P. M., Philadelphia about G P. M-, Balti- more about 8 P. M., and Washington at 9:30 P. M., and arrive at Millboro’ depot early the following morning, and passengers for the Virginia Hot Springs will arrive at the Springs about noon. In addition to the Vestibule Limited Train there will be two other trains daily, both with Pullman service. T H E HOT SPRINGS, 1 N BATH COUNTY, VIRGINIA. TIIE HOT SPRINGS OF VIRGINIA are justly classed among the most celebrated of the health resorts of America. The curative qualities of the waters are sufficient to give them a world wide reputation. They are the only natural earth-heated mineral springs of hot water east of the Mississippi river, and exhibit the same therapeutical effects as the waters of the widely-known Arkansas Hot Springs, over which famous sanitarium they have a great advantage in point of climate, as it is well known that a more pleasant and salubrious summer climate is nowhere to be found than in the mountains of Virginia. The valley in which the Hot Springs are situated is 2,500 feet above sea-level, and it is a well- attested fact that malaria does not exist at such an elevation. They have been resorted to since the beginning of the present century, and there are thousands of invalids who, under the influence of the life- giving waters, have received great benefit, and in many instances been entirely cured of diseases for which home treatment had not availed, and which had buffed the resources of medical science. So very wonderful are many of the cures that have been effected here that no one afflicted with a chronic disease should despair of being restored to health before making a trial of these delightful and wonderful baths. The thermal waters of the Virginia Hot Springs, which vary in tem- perature from 78° to 110° F., belong to the class of “Indifferent” or “Feebly Mineralized” waters—that is to say, they are inodorous and without marked taste. In this respect they strikingly resemble the waters of the famous Arkansas Hot Springs and those of numerous thermal springs of Europe, whose efficacy in the treatment of various chronic dis- eases has been attested by the uniform and consistent experience of many centuries—such as Gastein, Pfeffers, Wildbad, Plombieres, Teplitz, etc. Some of these were known and frequented before the Christian era, and are still in such high repute as to be inconveniently crowded during the height of the season every successive year, The therapeutical effects of the Hot Springs of Virginia are identical in kind and in degree with those which have been realized at these older and better-known establishments. 2 LOCATION. The Virginia Hot Springs are situated in the beautiful valley that lies at the western base of the Warm Springs mountain, in Hath county, Va., and which encloses, also, two other famous watering-places and de- lightful resorts—the Warm Springs and the Healing Springs, which are distant from the Hot Springs five miles ahd three miles respectively. They are near the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway, and are approached from Millboro’ Depot, over a finely-graded turnpike road. They can be reached from New York in almost eighteen hours, and from Washington city or Richmond in but little over twelve hours. CLIMATE. The valley in which the Hot Springs are located presents certain peculiarities of formation which greatly enhance the beauties of its scenery and contribute to the well-known salubrity of its climate. Lying between two parallel mountain ranges, whose general course is from north-east to south-west, it is intersected at other intervals by secondary valleys, which convey the mountain water-courses through corresponding gaps in the western range into Jackson’s river.. This ensures the more perfect drainage and ventilation, by which this valley is distinguished, from any other in the same section of the State. The Hot Springs are found at the head of one of these intersecting valleys, and the hotel is so situated as to command the finest view in both directions and to catch thesummer breeze from every ipiarter. The climate in summer is salubrious, invigorating, and inexpressibly delicious. The thermometer seldom rises higher than 85 degrees F. in the hottest days. From the 1st of June to the 1st of October it will aver- age about 70° F. The nights are always cool and refreshing. Fogs, which occur so frecpiently in other settlements among the mountains of this part of Virginia, are seldom seen in this delightful valley, which, in the transparent clearness of the atmosphere and the exquisite tints of its skies, exhibit some of the distinctive features of Swiss and Italian scenery. The surrounding heights of the Warm Springs Mountain attain, in many places, an elevation of over thirty-five hundred feet above the level of the sea, and afl'ord the mo**t extensive and imposing mountain scenery in America. THE SPRINGS. Within the grounds are found, in dose proximity, numerous hold springs of hot and cold mineral water, ranging in temperature from 50 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. 3 The different Hoi Springs make their appearance in a line extending from the base of the mountain almost straight down a lawn in front of the hotel, the soil of which has the appearance of having been washed out of the base of the mountain to its present locality, and is highly charged with carbonates of the alkaline earths. The flow from the springs is a constant and regular current with un- changing temperature; arising from great depth, the contingencies that control surface springs does not influence them. Many theories exist regarding the cause of heat of such springs. It is claimed by Humboldt that it is imparted by the inherent heat of the earth. It is also asserted by many scientific persons that it is due to the action of water in union with great beds of minerals and chemical matter in the earth. Be this as it may, the waters come seething to the surface, sparkling with gases, and weighted with the peculiar chemical formations of the carbonates of the alkalies, alkaline earths, and other mineral substances, which give to them properties that cannot be imitated by art. It is the wildest fancy to suppose that artificially-heated waters can ever possess any of the virtues of the waters of these springs. The efficacy of this wonderful fluid, medicated mysteriously in subterranean recesses, in effect- ing cures of the most inveterate diseases is simply miraculous. Science cannot explain it; art cannot imitate it. It is nature’s own work and her secret. THE DRINKING WATERS. The drinking waters comprise a great variety, and besides the waters of the different Hot Springs and the Magnesia and Soda Springs, they include Sulphur, Iron, and Alum Water. Particular attention is called to the Alum Water, which, by chemi- cal analysis, is shown to he fully equal to the very best found in this country, and is highly recommended for the use of persons suffering from Chronic Diarrhoea, or Dysentery, Scrofula, Inflammation of the Bowels, Dyspepsia, &c., and is also, by reason of the amount of iron it contains, highly esteemed as a Tonic and General Bestorative. The waters of the Magnesia Spring and the Soda Spring possess valuable properties in Dyspepsia, and their remedial properties in cases of Nervous and Muscular Debility, and in Nervous Irritation cannot be excelled. For the cure of diseases of the Kidneys and Bladder the water of the Soda Spring is without a rival. Patients suffering from the effects of Chronic Bright’s Disease, in an advanced stage, have received the most marked benefit from the use of the Soda Water in connection with the hot baths. 4 THE BATHS. The bath is taken literally in the Spring, in what has been not inaptly termed “The Living Waters,” in contradistinction to artificially-heated, or adulterated mineral waters. During the whole period of the bath, the body is subjected to an unvarying temperature in natural earth-heated min- eral water, sparkling with gases, and holding in solution the potent chemicals whose combination works the cure of a vast range of diseases. The bath-houses are extensive and complete in their arrangement. There is a separate pool and dressing-room for each bather. The Boiler Baths are supplied by numerous hot springs which issue from the earth under the floor of the pools, at a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and retaining a permanent standard of 106 degress in the full bath. All of the apartments are provided with beds and blankets, to enable patients who require it to undergo the “ packing ” and sweating process after issuing from the bath. The Slllphlir Baths are supplied from a remarkably bold spring of 102 degrees temperature. It makes a most delicious bath. The presence of a notable amount of sulphuretted hydrogen is unmis- takably revealed by the odor apparent at the source, and there is, more- over, a white sulphurous deposit very similar to that seen at the celebrated Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs. • The Hot Spout Baths, which are so popular with visitors, have, in addition to the pools for immersion, an arrangement bv which a continuous column of water, at a temperature of about 106 degrees Fahrenheit, may be directed, at the will of the bather, to any part of the body. They are used, not only by certain classes of invalids who derive con- spicuous benefit from taking them, but also by many pleasure-seekers, who enjoy their exhilarating effects. The Octagon Bath is supplied by one of the boldest springs on the grounds. The water rises from the floor of the bath, at a temperature of 100 degrees, highly charged with carbonic acid, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which, bursting to the surface in thousands of bubbles, makes the water sparkle like a glass of wine. The bath is twenty-five feet in diameter, and five feet in depth. The water is very buoyant, and the effect of the bath is highly exhilarating. The size of the pool affords abundant room for the enjoyment of the novelty and luxury of a swimming-bath in hot water. The Ladies Pleasure Hath is supplied with water from the Mag- nesia Spring, which bears a remarkable resemblance, both in temperature 5 and hygienic effects, to the celebrated German spa Schlangenbad, which is renowned all over Europe, not only as a delightful bath, but also for its cosmetic properties. The temperature is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The water contains very fine particles of a white chalky substance, which softens and removes all roughness of the skin, and gives tp the body a sensation of having been anointed with some delightful ointment. Mineral-Mud Baths.—These baths have for a number of years been in use in different places in Germany. They are growing daily in popularity and now form a leading feature at some of the spas of that country. They were introduced at the Virginia Hot Springs several seasons ago, but the arrangements proving defective, were discontinued. They have been restored and perfected, and the arrangement for giving Mineral-Mud baths is now so complete that it must prove a great attraction and benefit to patients. There are separate tubs, with fresh material provided for each bather, and besides the full bath, there are partial and local baths for the feet or hands. In cases where it is not deemed prudent for the patient to take a full bath, either in mineral water or mineral mud, a cataplasm or poultice of mineral mud can be applied. Mineral-Mud baths act more powerfully than simple Mineral-Water baths, and their virtues are freely admitted alike by both physicians who are sceptical about the powers of mineral waters and by those who have most confidence in them. In a very interesting work, entitled “ The Baths and Wells of Europe, their Action and Uses” a very judicious English writer (John Mac- pherson, M. D.,) says in relation to Mineral-Mud baths: “A mass of clinical observation seems to make it certain that this general poultice applied to the whole surface is of much use in the same cases as thermal baths. While less exciting than thermal waters of the same temperature, they seem to have more of a resolvent power in exudations and thicken- ings of the joints; but indeed the variety of affections in which they are considered especially applicable is very great. Among the diseases for which they can be recommended, are Torpid Scrofulosis, Anaemia, and Chlorosis, in old Rheumatic and Gouty Affections with Mor- bid Residua in the Muscles, Bones and Joints, Contractions, Tu- mors, Lumbago, Sciatica, Peripheric Palsies, in Chronic IJyper- semia and Hypertrophy of the Liver and Spleen, in Affections of the Male and Female Sexual Organs, Impotence, Spermator- rhoea, Sterility, Leucorrho:a, Suppressed or Difficult Menstru- ation, in some Diseases of the Skin, as Impetigo, Chronic Urticaria, Atonic Ulcers, in Tubercles of the Bones, in Old Injuries, Anchy- loses,” &c. 6 ANALYSIS OF THE WATERS. The waters of the Hot Springs have been analyzed by several distin- guished chemists. The most recent analysis was made in 1883 by Pro- fessor Clarke, of the Smithsonian Institute. He analyzed the four principal Springs, viz.: The Boiler, the Hot Spout, the Sulphur, and the Octagon Spring, all of which vary in their chemical constituents, but not in any marked degree. The differ- ence in temperature of the four Springs is ten degrees, and some of them are more highly charged with electricity than the others. His analysis of the Boiler Spring is as follows : The Boiler Spring—Temperature, 110° F, Total Solids, 0.5975 Gramme to the Liter. . Found. Probable combination. Silica .0275 Sulphuric Acid 1319 Chlorine 0050 Alumina 0020 Calcium 1350 Magnesium 0357 Sodium 6>20 Potassium 0117 .3014 Carbonic Acid 2361 .5975 Silica 0275 Alumina 0020 Potassium Chloride 0105 Potassium Sulphate 0138 Sodium Sulphate 0370 Calcium Sulphate 1407 Calcium Carbonate 2355 Magnesium Carbonate 1240 .5919 99.00 per cent, accounted for. The analysis of the Magnesia and Soda Springs was made by I)r. R. H. Stabler, of Alexandria, and is as follows: The Magnesia Spring—Temperature, 86° F. Specific Gravity, 1.0007. Total Solids in a wine gallon, 28.48 grains. Analysis of Solids. Acids. grs. Sulphuric Acid 5.096 Chlorine 277 Carbonic Acid 10.248 Silicic Acid 900 Bases. gre. Soda 1.009 Lime 8.512 Magnesia 2.318 Organic matter, a trace. 7 The Soda -Spring—Temperature, 78® F. Specific Gravity, 1.0004. Total Solids in a wine gallon, 24.54 grains. Analysis of Solids. Acids. grs. Sulphuric Acid .. 4.278 Chlorine 148 j Carbonic Acid 6.380 ' Silicic Acid 776 I Bases. grs. Soda 2.564 Lime 8.284 Magnesia 2.112 Organic matter, a trace 008 The analysis of the Alum Spring was made by Professor Gilliam,, late of the Virginia Military Institute, and is as follows : The Ahum Spring. Total Solids in a wine gallon, 45.35 grains. Found. Probable combination. Sulphuric Acid. 29.984 Silica 1.327 Alumina 4.6H5 Protoxide of Iron 2.222 Lime ; 5.574 Magnesia 1.5(15 Chlorine Traces Sulphate of Alumina 15 571 l<* “ Protoxide of Iron 4.747 “ Lime 13.537 “ Magnesia 4.69i> Free Sulphuric Acid 5.471 “ Silicic Acid 1.327 Potash, Soda, Carbonic Acid, and Organic matters not tested for. To those acquainted with the wonderful activity of even a minute- portion of any mineral substance diffused through a mineral water, this, analysis itself would indicate, to some extent at least, the extraordinary curative and remedial properties of the waters of the Virginia Hot Springs. But the chemical composition of a mineral water can lead to no just and certain conclusions in regard to its full medicinal powers. Its most potent part may be incapable of analysis, and our only sure test in rela- tion to the value of such an agent is experience of the result when it is used for the relief of disease in the human system. Tried by this unerring test, the thermal waters of the Virginia Hot Springs are excelled by nothing ever known to the human race as a remedy in many of the most serious and unmanayeable diseases that afflict hu- manity. 8 THE DISEASES CURED OR RELIEVED. We cannot, in this publication, give in detail the history of the many remarkable cures which these waters have effected ; we can only enumerate the general class of diseases in which their curative qualities have proven especially efficacious, the truth of which can be attested by some one in ALMOST EVERY COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE LAND. The diseases are: Gout, Rheumatism, Paralysis, Scrofula, Syphilis in all its forms; Impurities of the Blood, Affections of the Digestive Canal, Diseases of the Liver and Portal Sys- tem, Neuralgia, Old Injuries to the Muscles and Joints, En- larged Glands, Diseases of the Kidneys and Bladder, Urethral Stricture, Diseases of the Nervous System (especially Sciatica), Diseases of the Womb, Menstruation Troubles, Sterility, In- flammation of the Eyes, Migraine or Sick Headache, Spinal Irritation, Chronic Ulcers, Diseases of the Skin, and Deafness. In these diseases the remedial properties of the waters of the Vir- ginia Hot Springs are unrivalled. Many cases of the diseases enumerated above, which had resisted not only the most skillful medical treatment, but in which other mineral miters of high repute had been used in rain, have BEEN ENTIRELY CURED BY THEIR USE. Of the vast number now suffering with these maladies, there are com- paratively few indeed who would not be either perfectly restored or greatly relieved by these waters. When drank they are anti-acid, mildly aperient, and freely diuretic and diaphoretic. Used as a bath, they equalize an un- balanced circulation, and restore to the different important organs of the system, when torpid, that natural healthy sensibility without which they cannot perform their respective functions, and the benejieial action of all remedies will be dimin- ished or destroyed. They act powerfully upon the Liver, Kidneys, and Skin; relax contracted tendons; promote glandular secretion; exert a salutary influence over the uterine system, and often relieve in a short time excruciating pain caused by disease in some vital organ. When it is remembered that the effects last mentioned can be obtained by using the waters simply as a bath, without oppressing, irritating, or disturbing the stomach by Drugs or Fluids ; and when it is also borne in mind that the baths, being of great variety of temperature—varying from 78° F. to 106° F.— affords to the invalid a choice between one of the mildest, one of a DECIDEDLY, OR ONE OF A VERY POWERFULLY STIMULATING CHARACTER, AS HIS CONDITION MAY REQUIRE EITHER THE ONE OR THE OTHER ; and also the opportunity of alternating or changing from a bath OF ONE TEMPERATURE TO BATHS OF DIFFERENT DEGREES OF HEAT, AS IS OFTEN RECOMMENDED AND ADVISED DURING TREATMENT; in view of these facts, the intelligent reader will have no difficulty in believing that these baths afford the safest, surest, and speediest agencies in the removal of disease and the restoration of health. OBSERVATIONS ON THE ESE OF THE BATHS. There is no special rule as to the best period of the day for bathing. Observation has shown that the effect is different in different cases, and the patient will be governed by the special circumstances of his case. A great many patients bathe in the early hours of morning, before breakfast; but those who are of a weak constitution are nauseated or rendered ner- vous bv bathing when fasting. In every case the bath ought not to be en- tered for at least two hours after the last meal. When the weather is wet, great care should be taken to avoid catching cold, as the susceptibility of the skin to atmospheric influences is much increased by the baths. During the first few minutes after entering the bath, the patient should remain quiet; after that he should apply gentle friction to the ailing part, or re- ceive the spout upon it. From fifteen to twenty minutes is a sufficient length of time to remain in the bath, and if the patient feels weakened or over-excited by the action of the water, he should shorten the duration of his bath. It is a very yreat mistake to suppose that the healing virtues of the waters are obtained from them in proportion to the length of time that is passed in the bath. Some patients, apparently with this idea, have pro- longed their bath to a period that brought them positive injury, while many cases of wonderful cure have been effected by using the bath for but a few minutes each day. Persons suffering from gouty or rheumatic affec- tions, in whose cases it is desirable to keep up, for a time, the perspiration excited by the bath, should undergo the packing process at the bath-room or go to their rooms and lie down and cover with blankets. Others, if the weather be suitable, may take a brisk walk, always keeping well wrapped up, to avoid taking cold. In order that the use of the baths and mineral waters should lead to a successful result, it is of the first importance to ob- serve a careful diet and to be temperate at meals. The overloading of the stomach, even with proper nourishment, is quite as injurious as the par- taking of forbidden dishes. The essential rule for those who resort to the wafers of the Hot Springs, is to devote themselves wholly and entirely to their care. These waters will do wonderful things for you if you permit them, but it is a mistake to suppose, that because a bath is taken regularly, and a certain quantity of water drunk each day, that all requirements have been met, that the pa- tient need not exercise any care over himself, but that a cure must neces- sarily follow. To insure its complete success, the treatment should be fol- lowed with regularity and without interruption, and extreme rare should be taken by the patient not to do anything to counteract the beneficial effects of the baths and waters. We advise all who come for treatment to place themselves under the direction of the resident physician. Many, and some very serious, mistakes are made by persons who unadvisedly make use of the baths and waters. 10 THE HOT SPRINGS AS A PLACE OF PREPARATION FOR THE USE OF COLD MINERAL WATERS. If a patient designs visiting several Mineral Springs in the course of the season, and in desirous of reaping all the benefits possible to be bad by the use of the waters of each, he should visit the Hot Springs first. This assertion is supported by the experience and observation of many dis- tinguished medical men. The late Dr. Thomas Goode, who was for many years the proprietor of the Virginia Hot Springs, was a thoroughly educated, intelligent, and skillful physician, having every opportunity for observation on this subject afforded him by a residence of many years among the mineral springs of Virginia. In the interest of medical science, he devoted much attention to the subject, and, along with his own opinions and observations, collected and published the experience of some of the most capable, reliable, and dis- tinguished men in Europe, in confirmation of the assertion that Hot Springs should be the place of first resort—that instead of being used to confirm the good effects of cold mineral waters, they are more beneficial as a proper servation, and report. Lee treats of eighty mineral springs—twenty-six of them thermal. Granville treats of thirty-six—eight of them thermal. Johnson treats of twenty—twelve of which are thermal. In no one instance do either of these gentlemen, nor any of the con- tinental physicians from whom they derived information, speak of, or advise patients to go to, cold saline springs to prepare them for a course of thermal waters; but, on the contrary, patients, after having their torpid systems properly roused and prepared at hot springs, are sent to such cold, saline, sulphur or chalybeate springs as may be thought indicated in their cases. And at most of these springs the correctness of this practice has been confirmed by the experience of several centuries. 11 HYGIENIC EFFECTS OF HOT BATHS. Thermal Waters, when judiciously used, produce effects which cannot be obtained from any artificial combination whatever; and there- fore afford the invalid relief after all ordinary remedies have failed. They act on the human machine in three principal ways: first, through the medium of sensation on the nervous system ; secondly, through the agency of their temperature on the vascular system ; and thirdly, by means of their chemical contents, on the secretory and excretory organs. In most chronic com- plaints (and especially in rheumatism, gout, cutaneous defcedations, neu- ralgia, dyspepsia, glandular swellings, and visceral obstructions,) there ia pain, uneasiness, or discomfort of some kind, which indeed constitutes the chief grievance of the individual. It is no unimportant matter to soothe those sufferings during the process employed for the cure. The baths at the Hot Springs of Virginia effect this purpose in*an eminent degree, through their agency on the sentient extremities of the nerves distributed over the surface of the body. There is an extensive chain of sympathies established between the skin and the internal viscera; and through the medium of this channel, agreeable sensations excited on the exterior are very often communicated to the centred organs and structures themselves. Even, in this way, torpid secretions are frequently roused jnto activity and improved in quality, while the secretory apparatus itself is relieved from a host of painful feelings. There is nothing empirical or doubtful in the use of mineral and ther- mal springs for the cure of obstinate chronic diseases; they are Nature’s Remedies. Theu- ingredients are compounded and diffused in her own laboratory, according to the rules of a chemistry so perfect that no human science cao ever rival it, and they rise pure, fresh, and sparkling, from the bosom of the earth, offering to the aillicted sure, safe, and speedy means of relief from maladies which the medicines of the physician cannot cure and the knife of the surgeon may not reach. The hygienical effects of thermal baths seem not to be fully appreciated in this country. In the eastern world, warm and hot baths are habitually' taken by persons in every class and condition of life, from the northern limits of Russia to the tropics. The fact that they are resorted to in trop- ical climates as a refreshing cordial is a sufficient answer to the popular but erroneous idea that they are debilitating in their effects. So far from weakening or enervating the constitution, it has a decidedly contrary effect, and therefore, in debilitated subjects, it is infinitely more proper and safe than the cold bath. Dr. Bell, in his “Treatise on Baths,” describing the action of thermal waters, says r “ In chronic rheumatism and gout, and in chronic stomachic and in- testinal diseases, in which the circulation is languid and the skin cold and clammy, and tongue moist, and there is an absence of thirst, the hot bath 12 and hot douche and drinking the hot water display often wonderfully restorative powers. So also in tumid livers and spleens after a subsidence of fever, and phlogosis in paralysis, when the brain has recovered its func- tions, and in stiff'and anchylosed joints and indolent and scrofulous tumors, old ulcers and chronic diseases of the skin, especially of the scaly kind, these means deserve a full trial. The application of hot water by douch- ing adds greatly to its power. “ Nine-tenths of the patients who resort to hot bathing at Bath, Eng- land (the temperature of the water being upwards of 100° F.), are paraly- tic. Of these more than two-thirds are either cured or receive great bene- fit. In chlorosis and sterility, not depending on organic affections of the uterus or ovaries, thermal baths have displayed excellent effects.” THE SUPERIORITY OF NATURAL HOT BATHS TO A R TT EK ’ I ALL Y-H E A T EI) BATHS. Natural thermal waters exhibit in addition to the ordinary effects of artificially-heated baths, other phenomena peculiar to themselves. While this peculiarity of thermal waters may be difficult to explain, it is, never- theless, a fact; and, whatever be the true theory of thermal springs and whatever opinion be entertained as to the mode in which the caloric may be combined with the water, “ it is certain that in all ages and in all countries invalids have preferred natural hot baths to artificial ones’’ even of the same chemical composition. It has been suggested by high authority that thermal waters may be more highly charged with electricity, and the many pecu- liarities that have been observed in their wonderful effects upon the human organism gives force to this suggestion ; but whatever be the explanation, the superior effect of thermal springs over artificial waters of the same composition, as far as can be chemically determined, is undeniable. In the British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review for July, 1860, this question is considered in a notice of a work of A. B. Granville, on the Mineral Springs of Vichy. It is affirmed that the effects of Buits Chomal (a hot spring) are very different from those of the Celestins (a cold source), even when the temperature of the latter has been previously raised by ar- tificial means to the same standard as that of the former. This doctrine has often been discredited on the ground of the unsatis- factory character of the explanations given of the observed effects. Skep- ticism on such grounds is irrational. The alleged facts are of a kind to be easily verified or refuted by clinical experience. After making all due al lowance for climate and other hygienic influences, results are obtained which leave no room for doubt as to the reality of a special virtue in the case of natural thermal waters. Difficult of explanation as this phenomena may be, it can at least be emphasized by a very simple illustration. Charcoal and diamond are known to be alike in composition; yet science has always been baffled in the attempt to take separate ingredients of charcoal and form them into diamond. The chemical ingredients in the waters of two springs may be identical. One is heated by nature; the other heated by arti- ficial MEANS, YET THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM IS THE DIFFER- ENCE BETWEEN DIAMOND AND CHARCOAL. ADVERTISEMENT. The list of names of guests whom we might give as reference is too extensive for publication in this work. They are to be found in almost every community throughout the country. For information in regard to the value of the waters of the Virginia Hot Springs as a remedial agent, we refer to the medical profession generally. Recent improvements have made the Virginia Hot Springs one of tlie most comfortable watering-places offering for public patronage. Its cen- tral position among the famous springs and resorts of Virginia and West Virginia makes it especially attractive to pleasure-seekers. In addition to the large hotel, are conveniently-located cottages, afford- ing for families, and others who may desire it, more private and retired quarters. The furniture and equipment are new. Wood fires in open fire-places. The usual means of amusement have been provided. A well-equipped livery will provide facilities for guests to visit the neighboring springs. Express and telegraph office in the hotel. A line of light hacks runs in connection with all trains on the Chesa- peake and Ohio railway at Millboro’ depot. Through tickets to the Virginia Ilot Springs will be found on sale at all of the principal railroad stations and ticket offices in the country. The regular season extends from the loth of April to the 1st of No- vember, but visitors will be accommodated both before and after those dates if desired. In the management of the establishment every effort will be made to promote the comfort of invalids, and to render the place an agreeable re- sort to those who come in search of recreation and pleasure. For further information, address J. A. AUGUST, Proprietor, Hot Springs, Hath county, Va. ROUTES TO VJHQIJWA SPf^fQS. FROM THE NORTH, via Washington city and Char- lottesville, Va., thence via Chesapeake and Ohio railway to Miilboro,’ Va., or via Baltimore, Harper’s Ferry, and Staunton, Va., and thence by Chesapeake and Ohio railway ; or via Shenandoah Valley railroad from Hagers - town, Md., to Waynesboro’, Va., connecting with Chesapeake and Ohio railway at that point; or from New York city to Richmond, Va., by Old Dominion Steamship Line. FROM THE SOUTH, via Richmond; or via Lynch- burg, Va., and Charlottesville, Va., and thence by Chesa- peake and Ohio railway; or from Lynchburg by Richmond and Alleghany railroad, connecting with Chesapeake and Ohio railway at Clifton Forge, Va. FROM THE WEST, via Louisville or Cincinnati, or Huntington, W. Va., and thence by Chesapeake and Ohio railway to Miilboro’. Va. For information in regard to schedule of trains, price of tickets, &c., to Virginia Hot Springs apply— IN NEW YORK, at Chesapeake and Ohio Office, 362 Broadway. IN PHILADELPHIA, at Pennsylvania Railroad Ticket Of. ices. IN WASHINGTON, to C. R. BISHOP, General Eastern Agent, 513 Pennsylvania Aven je. IN RICHMOND, to JNO. D. POTTS, Dist. Pass’r Agent, Pace Building. IN CINCINNATI, to D. E. HOLMES, Ticket Agent, 5th and Wclnut streets; or to H. W. FULLER, General Passenger Agent, Central Union Pasenger Station. IN LOUISVILLE, to JNO. T. MORRIS, Passenger Agent, 253 Fourth Avenue. IN MEMPHIS, to R. H. TALLEY, Ticket Agent, under Peabody Hotel. THROUGH TICKETS to the Hot Springs of Virginia can be procured at all principal po nts in tha United States. THE WEST FR N UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY has an office at the Hot Springs curing the Summer season. EXPRESS OFFICE IN THE HOTEL.