A DRAMATIC SKETCH. No. II.

MESMERIC

DELUSIONS.-DRAMATIC SKETCH.

183

deserve well for the part he has taken in unmasking imposture it is with Mrs. BIRD, the Arsenic Prophetess; and thus it will and fraud. But for his energy and sustained perseverance, be with all those who follow in the same oblique paths. In the state of the law, and of public opinion, we shall have the twaddle of Mr. LUxMORE, the vapollring of Mr. JANSON, the toadying of Mr. PARKER, and the hysterical deceptions of to go on militant, exposing and denouncing the frauds of the Whipton heroine, would have been triumphant for a time. quackery at one time, and the crimes of quackery at another, And it was not without difficulty, labour, and the endurance until public and professional feeling is aroused at its enormity. of vilification, that he succeeded in exposing this extraordinary case. So much the more should he receive the thanks and A DRAMATIC SKETCH. commendation of all honest men, and all orthodox members No. II. of the profession. We have before us a letter from a gentleADJOURNED DEBATE AT man of Exeter, in which it is stated that THE LANCET. To the Editor

present

-

of

"

The abuse which has been showered upon Dr. Elliot has been almost beyond endurance; but as he could very well afford to bear it, lie preserved his temper, and thus their defeat and his most perfect triumph have been achieved. The correspondence commenced in Woolmees Gazette, Aug. 22nd, 1846, and continued in that paper up to the 14th Nov., when his opponents, being unable to answer his challenge, shifted their ground to the Western Times, whither he followed them. The mesmerists of Exeter have left no stone unturned to injure his professional reputation by detraction; they have basely insinuated that he had never attended a medicallecture-tliat he had been a druggist, and was practising as a physician under the shelter of a German diploma, for which he gave .620. The editor of the Zoist has also, in his notice of the controversy, tried his hand at detraction, and by insinuation, not open assertion, has endeavoured to make his readers believe that Dr. Elliot had been a druggist. Fortunately, Dr. Elliot is too well established in practice to be injured by such aspersions."

SIR,—You

- may scene Jan. 30th, 1847.)

We need hardly say that the attempts at impugning Dr. ELLIOT’S character and professional qualifications are gross calumnies. He is not only a qualified man, but, in addition to being a doctor of medicine of a British University, he is a member of the College of Surgeons of England, and a licentiate of the Apothecaries’ Society. In the heat of the conflict Dr. . ELLIOT received good service from Mr. DoRviLLE, a private gentleman, who enlisted in the cause from the love of truth, and the praiseworthy desire to aid Dr. ELLIOT’S single-handed ex-

ertions.

Altogether, this arsenic case, the deceptions of the mesmeric Prophetess, and the delusions of the mesmeric operators, form tale to startle the sober ear of the nineteenth century. It surpasses any story of the middle or dark ages, detailing the delusions of witchcraft, magic, or demoniacal possession. A century hence, such histories as the Arsenic Prophetess will probably be perused as an evidence of the weakness of the vulgar intellect of this age. Indeed, one might almost suppose, from their credulous and incredulous vagaries, that it was the mission of mesmerists to humble the pride of the present generation before all future times, by furnishing examples of the wonders and absurdities eagerly ,believed by the public, in what otherwise claims to be an era of fact and rationality. It seems to be the lot of Mesmer to succeed Munchausen in the absurd grotesque. Pity it is that it is not merely bombastic and extravagant lying, palpably labelled as lies to all, instead of a specious pandering to the weaknesses of human nature, inimical to the progress of sound knowledge, injurious to private and public morals, and an ignorant tampering with the health and lives of the community. This case, extraordinary as the deceptions exposed may appear, is only one of many, a specimen of a genus. All mesmeric miracles, like the tricks oflegerdemaiu, when looked at steadily, are no longer supernatural. Thus it was with CHABERT, the Fire King; thus it was with the sisters

a

OKEY; thus it was with Miss MARTiNEAU’s waiting-maid;

will remember-sorne persons will never forget in Old Burlington-street. (See THE LANCET of

thus

I resolved to follow the Stranger to his own home, and watch his proceedings. He was obviously a man of determined purpose, and that purpose good and true, when he was himself possessed of the truth. I now send you the account of the first meeting of the Medical Society, on his return. I will not fail to forward you the result of the adjourned debate. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, A LOOKER ON. SCENE-MEETING OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY AT

As the

.

of the adjournment of our St1’anger.-Sir, last meeting’s discussion, I believe I have the privilege of opening the proceedings of the present evening; and I am desirous to do so, because I wish to give a totally different turn to our discussion from that which I then contemplated. I am glad to see so numerous an attendance. I trust the members and our visitors will not be disappointed with what I am about to say and to propose. I resolved, at the close of our last meeting, to investigate the important subject of our deliberations thoroughly. I have even been to town with that object. Yes, I have made a visit to Dr. Forbes, the Editor of the British and Foreign Medical Review, from whose writings I took my own views of the case, as I stated them before you, with the confidence which I had placed on the statements of that Review. I saw him and two of his colleagues. I brought the subject before them. I called for a copy of Prochaska. I read from my list of topics. I begged them to open the book and point out the paragraphs seriatim. One by one I proposed four, or it might be five, of the subjects which had engaged us in our debate. To my utter confusion, not one satisfactory paragraph could be found. To my questions, pressed with earnestness, these gentlemen were mute, or returned answers at once shallow in fact, and deep in ignorance and malevolence. I restrained my feelings with difficulty. I will not now, Sir, occupy you further with this interview. On another occasion, if you permit, I will return to it. I left, and hastened to see the individual whom these profligate writers, and I myself, as I fear you will too well remember, had defamed. I was received with courtesy. I quietly mentioned my errand. I begged for information. I received for reply these few words :—" If, Sir, you wish to know in what my labours really and truly consist, procure a very slim volume, published in 1843, of which, on account of the calumny and detraction, but ten copies have been sold. It may be considered, therefore, to this day, as unpublished. It is entitled " A New Memoir on the Nervous System." Its cost is only a few shillings. It contains, in a hundred pages, a brief account-as brief as I could make it, (and my style is not diffuse,)—of my views, and, I trust I may still add, of my discoveries. I will not say more of my own part in it; but I will mention fivespeaking engmvings, the work of my friend, Mr. Simpson, of Stamford, which I will venture to pronounce as amongst the most interesting and valuable in physiology and pathology. If you wish to do me justice, purchase and mover

184

carefully peruse this short work, and compare it with Prochaska yourself." This, Sir, and gentlemen, I have done. I have read it, and I will say, that if there be any work worthy of comparison with Euclid in medical writings, this is the work. It is the very opposite to the writings of its critic; terse for wordy, plain for misty, solid for frothy. I hold it in my hand: its bulk need deter no one. I will beg you shortly to examine its contents, its text, and its plates, with me. I will leave it on the table of our Society, for the use and advantage of our members. It ought to be on the table of every medical society in the kingdom.* And, Sir, as no one can be master of its author’s views who has not pored over this volume, I will again beg you to adjourn our debate once more, in order that we may come to the subject prepared. I have only myself just imbibed the full idea of the spinal syscentral organ, and its incident and reflex nerves, in its distinctness from all that is cerebral and ganglionic, with all its applications to physiology, pathology, &c., and to the

tem, its

of that great class of the diseases of the nervous I will say nothing of the part which I took in our last evening’s discussion. I was mistaken-deceived-misinformed by a malignant, but specious reviewer; a man who, in a style of impudent mockery, speaks of its being "grievous to write it down" !-to write down this book, I say, Sir. It is indeed grievous to see a man, holding a sort of position in our profession, " write himself down;" and not only that, but write himself down an -, (I beg pardon for a little warmth,) for as long as physiology shall last. This is my apology. The young M.D.—I beg, Sir, most cordially to second this proposition; and if I might presume, I would propose a vote of thanks to Mr. —(our Stranger), for his noble candour and most generous conduct. The Presiclent.-I will put both these motions at once; they ought not to be separated. [Carried by acclamation.) DIAGNOSIS

system.

and when a little initiated to the process, etherized air from the apparatus was gradually let on, by means of a tap, opening two ways, which had been added since the previous week, and which Dr. Snow said Mr. Ferguson, the instrument maker, had contrived. Mr. Cfesar Hawkins, after the operation, said that he wished publicly to express the thanks of himself and col. leagues to Dr. Snow, who had invented the apparatus, and applied it in these cases. He considered the instrument of Dr. Snow very much superior to those they had previously used; and it had the great advantage of enabling us to regulate the proportion of vapour administered.

began by inhaling merely atmospheric air,

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL. EMPLOYMENT OF ETHER DURING OPERATIONS FOR THE REMOVAL OF VENEREAL WARTS, FOR STRANGULATED HERNIA, AND FOR

ENTROPIUM.

Reported by J. H. RoGERS, Esq., Acting House-Surgeon. ON February lst, Mr. Arnott excised a large crop of venereal warts from the labia and perineeum of a young female, who consented to have them removed, on being told that this usually most severe operation could be performed without giving her any pain. She was placed in a recumbent position on a table, and the mouth-piece of the ether apparatus adjusted. At first she coughed and sputtered a good deal, but this soon subsided, and, after breathing deeply for about two minutes, (the nostrils having been compressed by the fingers

of an assistant,) the muscles of the face and limbs became relaxed, and the operation was commenced, and completed without occasioning the slightest struggle, or a single movement of the features. She uttered, however, one or two tolerably loud cries, when the operation, which lasted seven or eight minutes, was about half finished; but as these exclamations were unaccompanied by any corresponding action of the muscles of expression, it is probable that they were not indicative of actual pain. The mouth-piece was retained during the whole time, but she was allowed to breathe occasionally through the nose: when it was removed, on the

completion of the operation, she remained for a shorttime in state of profound stupor, the face pale, the eyes open, and the pupils widely dilated. This state of insensibility gradually Operations Without Pain. passed off, she rose and stood up, staring vacantly about her, like a person suddenly roused from a deep sleep. The exST. GEORGE’S HOSPITAL. THERE were three operations here on Thursday, Feb. 4th, pression of her countenance, her action, and tone of voice, in which the vapour of ether was exhibited again by Dr. Snow, bore a striking resemblance to the acting of Malibran in the a

in the presence of Sir B. C. Brodie, Mr. Keate, and a numerous assembly of spectators. The first operation, by Mr Caesar Hawkins, was for the removal of dead bone from the tibia. When the patient-a young woman-had inhaled the ether for three or four minutes, the operation was commenced without causing the least cry or struggle. After a minute or two, the inhalation was left off; but resumed again for a short time. The pupils dilated as she became insensible, and the eye was turned up as in sleep; but before the inhaling was discontinued, the pupils had contracted, and remained so for some time. The pulse became frequent, about 140, and remained frequent for some time. The ether was discontinued some little time before the completion of the operation. During this interval, she gradually regained her consciousness; and in answer to questions as to how she felt, complained of a little pain in the forehead, but did not notice what was being done to her limb. As the wound was being bound up, she recognised the sister by her, and began to cry, evidently from mental feeling, for she said she had felt no pain. The next case was an operation, by Mr. Tatum, for fistula in ano in a man. He groaned a little during the operation, and said afterwards that he felt it just a little, but nothing to signify: he seemed, indeed, quite merry. The operation in this case was apparently commenced a little too soon. the last operation, which was the Mr. Cutler amputation of a scirrhous breast in a woman who had not reached the middle period of life. In this case, the ether was most completely successful; there was not the least appearance of suffering either pain or any kind of uneasiness; and when the patient quietly recovered, she said she had been dreaming she was in France, from whence she had lately

performed

character of Amina, in the scene where she awakes and finds herself in the bed-room of the Count. On questioning her as to her sensations, she declared that she felt no pain, and was not aware that anything had been done. The anodyne effects of the ether appeared in this case to continue many hours, as after being placed in bed, the patient soon fell asleep, and continued dozing during the remainder of the day, making no complaint of pain or soreness. She said, on the following day, that she recollected crying out, for she was dreaming that she was relating to her mother what Mr. Arnott proposed doing, and that she cried out when he insisted on

operating. On February 2nd,

Mr. Tuson operated on an elderly female strangulated hernia. The ether was tried in this case, but failed, from its being found impossible to adapt the glass mouth-piece to the emaciated cheeks of the patient. On February the 5th, Mr. Arnott removed the breast of a female, aged fifty, containing a carcinomatous tumour. She came to this hospital because she had been informed that it could be cut out without giving her pain. About four minutes after the inhalation of the ether, the limbs became relaxed, and the operation was commenced. The excision of the tumour, and of several suspiciously indurated masses imbedded in the cellular tissue of the axilla, into which the

for

incisions extended, with the

ligature

of several

vessels,

occu-

pied about nine minutes. During all this time, the limbs and features were perfectly tranquil,but she uttered, during the first part of the operation, several subdued groans, but these sounds, as in the former case, were unaccompanied by any

action of the external muscles. The wound was covered with some wet lint, and the mouth-piece, which had been kept in for thirteen minutes, was then removed. come. The patient continued reclining on the table in the attitude In the two latter cases, the process of inhaling vapour did of a person in tranquil sleep. When spoken to, she answered not begin quite so soon as it appeared to do; for the patients but distinctly, and said, in reply to a question, that she slowly, * This is also our most deliberate opinion.—ED. L. did not know where she was. "Do you wish to have the