The Turkish Bath in health and disease : being a lecture delivered in the Mechanics' Hall, Sheffield, Friday, December 16th, 1858 / by John Le Gay Brereton.

  • Brereton, J. Le Gay. John Le Gay, 1827-1886.
Date:
[1858?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Turkish Bath in health and disease : being a lecture delivered in the Mechanics' Hall, Sheffield, Friday, December 16th, 1858 / by John Le Gay Brereton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

    5/16
    LECTURE Last night week, Dr. John Le Gay Brereton, of Bradford, agreeably with the request of many of our townsmen, again delivered his lecture on the Turkish Bath, to a very numerous audience. [As this subject is now exciting so much public attention, we deem it advisable to give our readers a verbatim report.] The chair was taken by Dr. Holland, who, in introducing Dr. Brore- ton, said, since he last appeared before them he had tested the merits of the bath by an experiment on himself. The LECTURER said: Mr. Chairman, ladies, and gentlemen, our worthy chairman has told you that since I last had the pleasure of lec- turing to you he has tested the merits of the Turkish bath by an experi- ment upon himself. That, of course, is the only method by which the truth of any statement can be tested. I wish you all to try the bath, not that it will benefit me in any way, nor have I any interest in lecturing to you further than that I am actuated by a desire to see you happier men and women than you are—(cheers;)—and I assure you that I am fully convinced, from practical knowledge and experience of the bath, that it is the only means by which perfect health can be maintained, and disease in many forms be eradicated; nor is it necessary for me to inform you that health is essential to happiness; then again cleanliness is unattainable except by the bath, and health without cleanliness is impossible; not one of you who has not taken the bath knows what absolute cleanliness is. As many of you are ignorant of what constitutes the Turkish bath, I will briefly describe the process. You, perhaps, all associate the term bath with ablution—washing in some form or other. I do not wish you to infer that I consider washing with water unnecessary; on the contrary, it is very important in its place, and constitutes an essential portion of the Turkish bath. The medium into which man is born, that which is most agreeable to him, and which imparts health and vigour to his frame— which is the life of his blood, and the stimulus of all power—is the air we breathe. Water is not the element for man to live in, and it alone cannot effectually cleanse the system of its impurities. Water cau do no more than remove filth which is deposited on the surface. Now, the Turkish bath is a hot air bath, into which water is only incidentally in- troduced. It consists of five processes. First, having divested yourself of your clothing, save some slight covering, you enter a tepid room through which air is passed at the temperature of about 100. You can sit, lie down, or walk about at pleasure. In this room you begin gently to perspire, and then you are taken into another, the temperature of which ranges from 140 to 230 degrees, according to the requirements of the case. In this room you perspire very freely, and drink plentifully of