The object of the regimen to which we subject a patient is to dispose his system to the favourable reception of salutary medicaments.

• To prohibit the use of any substance possessed of medicinal properties, and which might thereby modify or interfere with the action of the medicines.
• To regulate the quantity of nourishment, so that the daily loss may be supplied without surcharging the digestive organs. These two rules form the basis upon which all hygienic prescriptions should be founded, and they should serve equally as a guide to the regimen of persons in good health. We do not positively maintain that persons in health should avoid everything prescribed to the sick: we merely wish to observe that every substance which may produce pathological effects becomes noxious in course of time, and should be adopted with caution in a judiciously chosen regimen, and one calculated to preserve the mind and body in a state of vigour and serenity. The basis of the prescribed diet we shall examine according to this principle. It, will indicate the various ailments derived from the vegetable and animal kingdoms, with those which may be admissible for the patient, and those which must be prohibited during the Homoeopathic treatment.

Asparagus, sorrel, radishes, celery, &.c should, during treatment, be particularly guarded against, as they contain properties essentially medicinal.

Cooking, in some degree, corrects the medical properties of the onion, garlic, shallot, parsley, and chervil; we should, nevertheless, exclude them as much as possible from the diet of an invalid. The mushroom, as difficult of digestion, should be avoided, more particularly by patients whose digestive organs may be impaired. All fruits which are not perfectly ripe, or such as are acid, should be prohibited, since they are either difficult of digestion, or may counteract the properties of the medicine.

Chamomile, the elder-flower, and all prisons should be prohibited. Seasonings are referable chiefly to aromatic substances, and are classed among the medicaments: they should therefore be excluded as much as possible from the regimen of the sick. Salt, butter, cream, and sugar, are generally sufficient to render food agreeable to the palate; it is habit alone which has created a desire for highly seasoned dishes.

Aveal, as an aliment difficult of digestion, should be carefully guarded against by persons whose stomach is delicate, and whose organs of digestion are weak. Pork should be abstained from as much as possible during Homoeopathic treatment.

Ducks and geese are indigestible, and must therefore be prohibited. If we do not altogether exclude white and mucilaginous meats, such as lamb, chicken, &c, we must at least insist upon their very moderate use.

All drinks too exciting in their character, or possessing medicinal properties, should be expunged from the Homoeopathic regimen. These stimulants comprise strong wines, spirits, tea, coffee, &c.

The regimen should at all times be appropriate to the age and temperament of the patient; and from the rules already laid down, we may easily determine upon the regimen adapted to each individual.

It will be superfluous to dwell upon the importance of pure air, all persons being fully alive to its beneficial effects upon those who are ill: the patient should enjoy it upon all possible occasions. We are fully aware, too, how essential is bodily exercise to the regulation of our natural functions. It preserves the equilibrium of the system, and corrects, in a striking degree, the mischief produced by a too liberal table, the result of our social habits. Most persons eat and drink more than suffices for the support of life; it is fortunate, therefore, that exercise has the power of correcting the inconveniences arising from improprieties of regimen.

In chronic affections, exercise in the open air is indispensable; it induces an important and salutary action in the muscular system, and obviates visceral congestion. Walking in the open air is most beneficial for the invalid; he should regulate his walks according to his ability, and never prolong them so as to induce exhaustion.

Since walking and dancing generally call into action the lower extremities only, it is important, especially for the young, to have recourse to those gymnastics in which the upper extremities may participate. Riding on horseback, or in an open carriage, is advisable where the patient may be incapable of walking; but the latter exercise, in connection with gymnastics, is greatly to be preferred.

Habits, such as late hours, the attendance at balls, concerts, theatres, the gaming table, &.c, from their exercising an important influence upon the successful or unsuccessful issue of disease, must not be passed over in silence. Chronic cases, by such indulgence are frequently rendered incurable. The patient stands in need of regular repose and serenity of mind, to obviate any interference with the favourable reaction to be brought about by medicine. He must sedulously avoid all the indulgences we have just denounced.

It is important that the invalid should accustom himself to light clothing, lest undue warmth should render him susceptible of colds, excite perspiration, and debilitate the system. The invalid, however, should be careful in protecting himself against the influence of cold, and more especially against changes of temperature: our remarks refer merely to excess in the use or in the neglect of clothing.

He should avoid perfumes, both on the person and in his apartments, and should abjure an excess of sweet-smelling flowers: they exercise a deleterious influence upon Homoeopathic remedies. The use of cosmetics is similarly objectionable. Tobacco should be prohibited, unless the patient has acquired a confirmed habit of taking it, and where the sudden and total interruption of its use might be prejudicial to his health. In all habits of this class, such as drinking of wine, tea, coffee, &c, we must gradually diminish the quantity, and not abstain entirely, and on the instant.

The indiscriminate use of hot baths is pernicious, and must be strictly prohibited; cold or tepid ablutions are preferable during medical treatment.

The hygienic observances in acute affections are rest, bodily and mental tranquility, mild and equable temperature, and the avoidance, so far as practicable, of such causes as may have given origin to the disease.

It is generally observable, in acute cases, that the greater part of the functional economy is deranged. In most instances the appetite is impaired, or entirely suspended. The failure commences with aversion for food: and nature thus, of her own accord, indicates the observance of the first hygienic rule. To an invalid entirely devoid of appetite, no nourishment whatever should be offered; instinct should serve as a guide, and be implicitly followed. In adopting this plan, we need be under no apprehension of debilitating the patient, for the malady is brief in duration, and the functions are speedily restored. The appetite and digestive powers resume their natural course, and the affected organs are quickly re-established. More particularly we must bear in mind that the invalid take nothing which may be considered strengthening; he should receive only what he may have the power of digesting. In cases where the digestive functions do not act, or act imperfectly, the superfluous food stimulates, to a painful degree, an organ which should remain quiescent; and, far from strengthening the patient, throws him into a state of great debility.

Regimen, or positive abstinence, is not in all cases, or for a long period, essential in Homoeopathic treatment; in the more serious ailments, we may prescribe, after a brief interval, light nourishing food, gradually proportioned to the restoration of the economy. In a very short time the patient may have recourse to his ordinary regimen.

In less important affections, where the appetite is not suspended, we should carefully regulate the diet, and recommend the moderate use of such aliments as may be suitable.

Man's principal nourishment is evidently derived from the vegetable kingdom, the family of graniferous plants alone supplying a large portion of his aliment. Wheaten bread is the most nutritious and the most wholesome of our food, and readily assimilates with our system.

The potato, as an article of food, is equally salutary, and the simple manner in which it is prepared is usually the best, taking care to deprive it as much as possible of its moisture.

The fecula of the potato, rice, Macaroni, vermicelli, semolino, sago, salep, arrow-root, French beans, peas, lentils, &c. as articles of food, and prepared in a suitable manner, furnish healthful nutrition, and frequently of themselves are serviceable in convalescence from serious maladies, where the invalid should be gradually introduced to a more substantial diet. The melon, fully ripe, and in small quantities, may be permitted where the digestion is good. Strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, perfectly ripe, and prepared with sugar, or in the form of jelly—apricots, peaches, grapes, pears, and other fruits, not acid, and well ripened, may frequently enter into a well-regulated diet.

There is no beverage so suitable, during Homoeopathic treatment, as pure water; nor is any beverage so conducive to the digestion of those who live abstemiously. In acute diseases we accordingly prescribe-pure water, milk-and-water, barley-water, water-gruel, or gum-Arabic-water. In chronic diseases, similar diluents are appropriate. Individuals, however, who have accustomed themselves to malt-liquor, may continue its use in moderation, provided it cause no inconvenience and be of perfectly good quality. They, too, who for a series of years have been in the habit of drinking wine, might occasionally suffer much from its total interdiction, although such instances are rare, it is advisable to guard against them: in these cases we may permit wine in moderate quantity and diluted with water. Tea is, in most cases, particularly objectionable as a beverage during Homoeopathic treatment, inasmuch as it possesses medicinal properties by no means equivocal. We should, therefore, for this reason, be very cautious in its use. Even by those most accustomed to it, it should be taken weak, and in moderation. Similar objections are referable to coffee, which is even more pernicious than tea; it should therefore be still more rigorously abstained from. Cocoa, properly prepared, is of great importance as an article of food, and should in a great measure supersede the use of tea and coffee during medical treatment. Chocolate, taken occasionally, provided it be free from spice, is admissible as an article of regimen.