Great alarm appears to be felt iu London about the
cholera—an alarm very useful in many ways—but the few facts known do not justify it. Cholera, after being endemic in Russia for two, or, as some say, for five years, has reached Konigsberg on the East Prussian frontier, but there is no proof that it is marching. No evidence of its progress is given, and the deaths, which were originally 2 in 3, are now 1 in 2. It is worth while in a time of panic to remember that as far as evidence can prove anything, it is certain that cholera is not communicated by touch, that the cause of contagion is an el3laviurn from the fleece, and that diarrhea, apart from the poison, can no more develop into the Asiatic disease than gout can develop into paralysis. The statement made this week that cholera, has ap- peared in London is unfounded, and there is little probability that it will appear till next year,—when it may be terrible. Meanwhile the best precautions are the suppression of cesspools and expendi- ture on pure water. The only drug-palliative worth a straw iEs opium.
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