16. I had taken on different occasions gr. 1 to 3; of the extract, without any noticeable effect,, and after repeating it several times increased the dose to 5 gr., from a new lot which we had just received. I took the dose after dinner, about 2 p.m.,, and as I had failed so often in obtaining its medicinal action in the least, I commenced my usual work in the laboratory, thinking no more about it, till 1/2 h after, when I was suddenly reminded of it by a peculiar feeling I experienced that could be compared to a warm stream of water which gradually stole up my back and made its way to the brain. At the same time I had very dry mouth and fauces, so that I could hardly swallow or speak; intense and rapid beating of the heart, and widely dilated pupils; my pulse was 150 to 160 per m.; I did not feel sick, but more as if under the effects of an intoxicating drink. By this time I felt a burning sensation in the throat, and mentioned it to my colleague, Mr. Dohme, who recommended me to take several drachms of bitartrate of potassa with water, which did me considerable service. I now felt in the highest degree nervous; my legs were hardly able to support my body, and I had strong inclination to sleep, and therefore hurried to my bed which I entered without undressing. I now began to feel the characteristics effects of the haschisch. I was not able to go to sleep, yet under a peculiar nervous action of the brain and senses, my mind wandered from one subject to another, and strange to say, with m y open eyes I dreamed (I must call it so), for I saw, heard, and noticed every thing around me but the mind wandered rapidly from one subject to another only remaining for a moment or two on the same thing, then passed to another, and tales of youth again charmed my existence; pictures and scenes long since forgotten were again for an instant as plain as if seen only a day before. Theses dreams of imagination lasted about an hour, and then changed to a slight headache, which I felt till late in the night. I now got up to finish some preparation I had commenced in the morning, but found myself too weak and nervous, and had to leave the laboratory. At 6 I took supper, and had an excellent appetite, but my mouth was still very dry. At 12 o’clock I went to bed, slept very quietly without dreams, and awaked in the morning as well as usual. (CARL BOWER, Amer. Obs., May, 1864.)
17. On August 5th, 1876, at, 6.58 p.m., I took 0.6 of a gramme of Egyptian haschisch, and 1/2 h. after 0.4 of a gramme in addition. Before taking pulse 72, at 7:10; pulse 80. First sensation pendulum – like oscillations in the head. 7:20 pulse 84; a feeling of flow of blood towards the upper part of head, and a strange sensation of contraction, and a kind of collapse within myself; the pendulum – like oscillations in the head increasing. 7:40 an irresistible inclination to laugh; loud laughter without any particular cause, tendency to rapid movements; pulse 84. I took several quick turns up and down the room, and then sat down. 7.55, a feeling of heat and pricking in the head, sensation of coldness and numbness in the extremities, which are cold to the touch and an indefinite feeling of melancholy and uneasiness; occasional starts without any visible cause, like those of electric shocks; pulse 96. Playing on the piano, performed by one of those present, produced a magical effect; it seemed as if the sounds were wafted from a great distance, that every sound had its peculiar life, a special fulness and expressiveness; the sounds seemed to come with fearful rapidity from an endless distance and to be reflected immediately in the ear – in a word, an ordinary performance seemed equal to that of some eminent pianist and I thought myself a profound connoisseur, calmly enjoying the playing of some distinguished musician. 8:10 pulse 104, full; sensation of heat in the head and pricking in the temples increased. I seemed to hear a loud noise, like that of a waterfall; suddenly the nature of the noise changed, and it seemed to proceed from a number of vehicles driving a in street; then again the noise became like what is heard at the close of a performance in a theatre, the rumbling of vehicles, shouts of men – all combining in one general roar; these sounds suddenly disappeared, and gave place to the booming of cannon, and reports of guns at a manoeuvre. I cut these sensations short by the force of my will, and took a quick turn in the room. I felt a violent thirst. After drinking a glass of water I sat down on the sofa, and closed my eyes at 8:30. Scarcely had I done so when I felt a remarkable buoyancy and flexibility in all my body; before my eyes appeared a whole series of variously tinted luminous figures, rapidly vanishing their shapes being in the highest degree undefined; then appeared a row of more or less well defined shapes. The most varied and most luxurious pictures of nature ever seen by me in reality or in drawings, transported me into a magical world; I thought I was in some virgin forests of South America, then in some cities of Switzerland, then amidst the ocean, and again amidst heaps of ice and snow, &c. An entire series of reminiscences of childhood, the faces of friends and acquaintances and the faces known to me by portraits) of authors, savants, poets, politicians, &c., – all these became blended in my head, presenting a kind of phantasmagoria and the most variegated picture. All these sensations passed rapidly and distinctly before me, and I felt so enraptured that I begged to be allowed to plunge into this fantastic world, and to leave of dictating my feelings. This state lasted till 9:20. During this time those who were present observed that my face was hot, red, and moist: pulse 108. On my recovery I got up with the intention of walking across the room, but noticed that my gait was unsteady, and that I was swerving to the left and that the upper and lower extremities of my left side were benumbed. I drank a little water and wine. At 9:45 I experienced sharp and occasionally shooting pains in the loins and in the region of the kidneys. These pains, as well as a feeling of nausea, made my state very uncomfortable. I endeavoured to induce vomiting by tickling the root of my tongue, but did not succeed. It was nearly midnight when I sat down to supper and ate with a great appetite. At 1 a.m., I went to bed and my first sensation was that I was flying from an enormous rock into a fearful and dark abyss. I fell asleep at once and slept very soundly. It was 11:30 a.m., when I awoke with a feeling of heaviness in the head, with full remembrance of the previous day, and a sensation of emptiness and incapacity for thought. Whatever I did appeared endlessly long; my words, and the conversation of others seemed too prolonged, whereas in reality it appeared that I spoke as usual. I went out into the street to take an airing, but the further I went the more it seemed to me that I was walking a very long time, and that the houses and people were all flying away from me. Making an effort over myself, I took the first vehicle, and drove back home. On my arrival at once lay down, and slept till evening. On awaking I felt much better. The urine which I had collected during the experiment had a peculiar odour, somewhat like that of cannabis indica. During the d., according to my own observation and that of others, my face was exceedingly pale, the pupils dilated, the expression that of great illness. It was only on the next d. that I was able to take to my ordinary occupations. (MAXIMOVITCH, Hom. World., May, 1877.)
18. The following proving was made by a young friend of mine, a gentleman of good mind and considerable reading; of excellent moral character and worthy of the most implicit confidence.
18 a. Having taken 15 gr. of an American extract without effect, a week later he took, at 8 a.m., 3 gr. of an English one, expecting it to operate about noon. Nothing happening, he concluded that he had taken too small a dose, when about 4:30, while playing guitar amongst his family, “one of the tunes, a rather solemn one seemed suddenly to assume a more melodious character gradually increasing in grandeur bar after bar, till I was wholly absorbed with it. The words died away and I still went on with the accompaniment; my mind carried the air and all surrounding objects faded; I lived wholly in the music, and a deep subdued joyous feeling, such as I never before felt, pervaded my whole being. At last I came to myself somewhat and turned to the whole being. At last I came to myself somewhat and turned to the others, remarking that it was beautiful and asking if they did not think so. They were surprised at the question and said the air possessed but little merit. At this moment a strange crawling sensation commenced in my body, extending to my limbs, down my arms into my fingers’ ends, and up into my brain, traveling slowly, but so powerful that I was wholly overcome with surprise.” These thrills followed more rapidly and became more intense especially when he moved to leave room. In going downstairs to put away guitar mind wandered and had to be forcibly recalled making time seem long; in going upstairs to his room he seemed not to touch steps, treading air as a swimmer treads water. Thrills were now continuous, commencing of each being only known by an increase in force; heart and arteries bean to throb violently, and blood to rush to head, so that he feared apoplexy. “The uncertain aspect of things” (which he had already experienced) “now increased, with the whole force of my reason seemingly unimpaired. I could not convince myself that the furniture in the room had any other than an ideal existence. This feeling was so oppressive that I determined to seek the rest of the family. But how could I reach them? I was in another sphere; I had journeyed to a world whose objects I could not realize, an uncertain world whose paths I did not know. An atmosphere surrounded my little world through which I could not pass; to break through the open doorway seemed as impossible as to wing my way through the ethereal regions to throne above. This was my station; here I must remain. A feeling of loneliness now overwhelmed me. I must seek the rest of the family. I hurled my body through the seemingly impenetrable though invisible barrier. On, on I went, pushing my way through a resistant atmosphere or surrounding – an adherent fluid it seemed to be, not dense as water nor rare as air, yet it resisted, and I by force of will overcame it step by step. I noticed here the two parts of my being acting separately; my will was separate from my body, spurring it onward, pushing it forward, and using it much as an artificer used a tool, seeming to exult in its supremacy and glad of its partial disenthralment.”
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.