Introduction
Aconitum Anthora, L.: A Clammarum, left; A ferox, Wall.; A Napellus, L. [Where no species is mentioned, it will be understood that the A. Napellus was employed] Wolfsbane (A. Napellus) Monkshood Blue rocket, Helmet flower. Nat Ord. Ranunculaceae.
Provings
1. HAHNEMANN, Fragmenta de Viribus Medicamentorum Positivis, 1805. Contains 138 symptoms observed by self, and 75 from authors. 2. IBID., Mat. Medorrhinum Pura, vol. i of original and translation. Contains 431 symptoms from self and 7 fellow- observers, and 110 from authors.
3. A. BR-, a healthy peasant girl, very robust, age. 22, took on successive days 5,10, and 20 drops of tinct. without effect. On 18th January took 30 drops; confusion of head, feeling of heat in evening 19th. – 40 drops; after 2 hours confusion of head, sometimes changing into heavy feeling and pressive pain in crown and forehead; loathing, nausea, general malaise with painful heaviness in limbs. After 5 hours pressive pain in scrobiculus cordis, dry feeling in mouth, great thirst. Felt so unwell, head so confused, giddy, and painful, limbs so heavy, that she had to go to bed. Face hot, hands and feet cold; pulse contracted, hard, moderately quick. After 9 hours pressive pain in forehead, face turgid red, eyes sparkling, dry feeling in mouth, tongue moderately moist, slightly furred, no appetite, great thirst, oppression of chest, shallow quick breathing, with frequent deep breathing and sighing. No pains, but heaviness and fulness in chest, anxiety and palpitation of heart. Heart’s beats strong, pulse fuller than usual, hard and strong, at same time moderately quickly; skin warm, urine clear and reddish. After 12 hours heat and restlessness increased, tosses about from one side to another. In right thorax some pressive pain. After 16 hours (9 p.m.), more tranquil last hours, general warm sweat. Headache, throat, and breathing difficulties relieved. Pulse large, soft, and slow. Only confusion of head and perceptible beating of heart complained of 11 p.m. Sleeps sound and quietly. No stool since yesterday morning. Ate nothing all days. 20th January- Slept quietly all night, skin moist on walking. Somewhat fatigued and head rather confused, this went off during day. (HENCKE, Archiv f. Hom. Heilk., xxx,1.)
4. Dr. C. Hencke took, 1st October, 1841, at 6 a.m., 4 drops of tinct. in a teaspoonful of water. Some pressure in stomach after 1 hour 2nd, 6 a.m., 8 drops in 1 oz. of water. Pressive pain in stomach (After 1 hour) lasting 1 hour. Heaviness and fulness in chest when walking; he felt as though the chest could not be expanded, compelling him to breathe deeply often (forenoon). 3rd, 6 a.m., 10 drops. Increased full feeling in chest when walking. Palpitation of heart felt when walking; flying stitches in cardiac region, sometimes felt when at rest. tiresome pressure on crown (forenoon.). 4th, 6 a.m., 24 drops. Tiresome pressive headache, first in crown, then in forehead, where it caused feeling of heaviness and fulness, lasting several hours, aggravated by movement (forenoon). Flying stitches in chest here and there; full feeling in chest; pressive pains on sternum; some palpitation of heart when walking and frequent deep breathing. Three liquid stools of foetid dissolved faeces during day. Icy cold feet (evening.) 5th, 6 a.m., 30 drops Headache, full feeling. Three watery stools with slight griping. Urine passed in morning brown, on standing turbid, and with dirty. Urine passed in morning brown, on standing turbid and with dirty brown sediment. Feet and hands icy cold (evening). 6th. – Many confused dreams during past night. The feeling of weight and fulness in chest more troublesome, compels him to breathe deeply even when at rest, accompanied by internal restlessness, anxiety, and palpitation of heart. Pressive pain in region of heart. Three watery stools with rumbling in bowels and qualmishness, anxiety, and palpitation of heart. Pressive pain in region of heart. Three watery stools with slight griping. Urine passed in morning brown, on standing turbid, and with dirty brown sediment. Feet and hands icy cold evening. 6th. – Many confused dreams during past night. The feeling of weight and fulness in chest more troublesome, compels him to breathe deeply even when at rest, accompanied by internal restlessness, anxiety, and palpitation of heart. pressive pain in region of heart. Three watery stools with rumbling in bowels and qualmishness. 7th. – Dreamt much at night. Oppression of chest internal restlessness, palpitation of heart, even when at rest, pressive pain in cardiac region as yesterday. Confusion of head, pressure in forehead, frequent heat in face, cold hands and feet, especially evening. Indisposed to mental exertion. Two dreams. Great confusion of head and pressive pain in forehead on waking. frequent deep breathing while driving. The weight and full feeling in chest, internal uneasiness, palpitation etc., went off on taking exercise in open air. Qualmish feeling in abdomen. Great feeling of hunger, renewed after eating. No stool. 9th and 10th. – Symptoms gradually went off. (Ibid.)
5a. N-, married, choleric temperament, in good health. a. Proved mixture of 2 drops of tinct. to 40 of water. 1st day- At 7:30 p.m. 8 drops. Soon afterwards drowsiness when driving, eyes closed for some seconds. After 3/4 hours, several times in a few morning, violent spasmodic yawning, repeated at 10 p.m.; fell fast asleep in chair till 1 a.m. 2nd days – At 6 a.m. hurried call to stool, with copious soft evacuation with straining; no other symptoms.
5b. Some days later same mixture. 1st days. – At 2 p.m. 8 drops, at 6 p.m. 5 drops at 7:30 p.m. 20 drops. Soon afterwards violent yawning without drowsiness; great laziness and faint qualmishness, no actual nausea. Painful rumbling in bowels and discharge of flatus, with relief. After one hour urging to stool, copious evacuation, followed by some straining. 2nd days. – Dry, short cough, several soft stools, with hurried urging.
5c. Some days later proved solution of 5 drops in 30 drops of spirit. Of this 8 drops morning, noon, and evening. Nothing observed but slight emotional disturbance, flushes of heat, especially in face and ears, slight pressive pain in head in right frontal protuberance, spreading to upper orbital border, soon going off. (Ibid.)
6. W-, age. 19, phthisical habitus, sanguine temperament. Took, 2nd October, 4 drops; 3rd, 8 drops; 4th, 10 drops; 5th, 12 drops of tinct. On 5th confusion of head, pressive pain in sinciput, heaviness in forehead. 6th, from 8 to 10 a.m., three liquid stools with severe griping. During day increased headache, heavy feeling in chest, difficulty of breathing, frequent palpitation of heart. 7th. – Pressive pains in head with pressure on eyes; two watery stools in day with severe cutting in bowels; frequent dry cough, occasionally with expectoration of bright red blood, but without pain in chest. 8th. – Headache continues; sleep but little disturbed by cough; heavy feeling in chest; difficult breathing, sometimes sighing; strong palpitation of heart; difficult breathing, sometimes sighing; strong palpitation of heart; dry cough, with occasional expectoration of bright red blood; one loose stool. 9th. – Cough with slight bloody expectoration of bright red blood; one loose stool. 9th. – Cough with slight bloody expectoration; breathing oppressed as yesterday; somewhat exhausted; internal anxiety; little appetite. 10th. -Only cough, not severe, no blood expectorate. 11th. – The cough continued, growing gradually less till the 15th, when it went off. (Ibid.)
6. [The tincture used in the Austrian provings was the Hahnemannian, prepared by mixing the expressed juice of the whole plant with equal parts of spirit of wine.-EDS.] a. Dr. F. H. Arneth took. 26th February, 1843, 10 drops of tinct. fasting. Some hour afterwards 20 drops. Nothing felt but burning on tongue. 21st, fasting, 15 drops. Immediately burning on tongue, great pressure and sometimes shooting in anterior, not superficial parts of eyeball. 22nd, morning and evening, 20 drops. 23rd. – At noon 30 drops. Almost immediately same pains in eye, occurring several times during day. From 26th. (though no medicine was taken since 23rd) signs of a chill, severe coryza, shivering over back, especially in evening.; slight oppression of breathing, with slight pressure under sternum, sometimes flying heat, quick, rather full pulse, etc; nights very restless, with vivid dreams of things that happened during the day. 28th, morning and evening, 25 drops. Moderate increase of all the described symptoms. 29th. – In forenoon 40 drops. Besides above symptoms, immediately after taking medicine some pinching about navel, as after taking manna, soon followed by easy, painless diarrhoea, later pressive pain on right eyebrow. Towards evening the febrile symptoms increased greatly, for which he took (not knowing the medicine he was proving) some globules of acon. 7. The next night restless, with dreams about his patients. Feeling no better he took on morning. of 30th some globule of acon. without relief. The febrile state lasted till 8th March, with all the previous symptoms. On 7th March the difficulty of breathing increased, especially on left side of chest in cardiac region, with intermitting pulse; five beats were always hard, full, in rapid succession, the sixth was an intermission. This lasted all day. He got pale, emaciated, his gait and whole appearance betokened illness, and this was observed by others. Burning along urethra when urinating. 9th. – Feeling of shortening of tendons in hough, pain in left patella as from a bruise. This lasted the 10th and 11th. On 12th for more than 10 morning, peculiar feeling in eyes, like that felt by amaurotics in first stage, a warmth and undulation in both eyes, with involuntary half closure of lids, and, though the room was quite light, felt as though he could not read for want of light; he could read, however. 13th. was followed by tearing and drawing, with lameness in head of left humerus for 2 hours. 15th. – Feeling of shortening of both tendines Achillis; had a difficulty in standing quite erect after sitting some time, knees gave way. This lasted nearly 3 weeks, and only went off 5th April.
Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.