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AN ESSAY

ON THE

INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGINATION AND PASSIONS

IN THE

PRODUCTION AND CURE OF DISEASES;

BY

ARTHUR JACOB, M. D. ^

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN IRELAND, DEMONSTRATOR OF ANATOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY, &c. &c.

TO WHICH IS ADDE^,' 'O*^ '■' ^ tj f ■

A TRANSLATION OF , A^MEMOl^"*' \

BY r~ ^v 9 1910 -

Dr. C. PFEUP^, ;^.~

SUPERINTENDING PHYSICIAN TO TSiL^ltJin^J^JU^^ HOSPITAL AT BAMBERG.

ON THE CURES PERFORMED BY THE OPERATIONS OF THE

PRINCE DE HOHENLOHE

*• I look upon the discovery of any thing which is ti'ue, as a valuable acquisition to society ; which cannot possibly hurt, or obstruct the good effect of any other truth whatsoever : for they all partake of one com- mon essence, and necessarily coincide with each other ; and like the drops of rain, which fall separately into the river, mix themselves at once with the stream, and strengthen the general current."

middi.eton',j tree inquiry into the miraculous powers.—

PREFACE.

DUBLIN:

PUBLISHED BY C. P. ARCHER, M. N. MAHON, R. MILLIKIN,

R. M. TIMS, ANNE WATSON, HODGES AND M'ARTHUR,

AND OTHER BOOKSELLERS.

1823.

\_Entered at Stationers' Hall.']

'^i'-

K. ORAISBERRV, PRINTER.

Ik

Since the first part of the following essay went to press, a small but well-written pamphlet on the same subject, signed " A Physician," has been published. As the author of that pamphlet does not appear to have had leisure to accumulate the facts necessary to support his conclusions, I did not allow the circumstance to interrupt my un- dertaking.

My object has not been to aim at a triumph over those who believe in the miraculous nature of the late cures performed by the operations of the Prince de Hohenlohe, but rather to call the attention of the profession and the public to the important physiological principle which I advo- cate, namely. That the power of the imagination and passions extensively hifluences the ordinary operations of the animal economy ; and that the same influence is not only capable of producing diseases hut of contributing to their removal.

An attempt has been made to put a stop to all inquiry respecting these alleged miraculous cures, by flinging the filth of personal invective up- on those who presume to meddle in the discussion,

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IV

or even to give an opinion upon it : this is surely unworthy of any cause, and little calculated to enable the community to arrive at the real truth.

Some persons seem ^a entertain an apprehen- sion that such inquiries lead to discussions in- jurious to true religion. In this I cannot agree with them, such a consideration does not appear to have had weight with Middleton, Paley, El- rington, or any other divines who have treated of miracles.

Dr. Sheridan, in a letter to the editor of the Weekly Register, argues, that Mrs. Stuart's ma- lady was not of that nature which would have ad- mitted of a cure by a mental impression. I fear, however, that our knowlege of the animal eco- nomy is far too limited to enable us to decide what diseases may or may not admit of cure from an impression on the mind.

I must request indulgence for errors and inac- curacies in the following pages ; the necessity of publishing^while the subject had possession of the public mind, compelled me to give less time to the subject than I should otherwise have done.

ESSAY, &c.

1 HAVE been induced to offer to the public the following explanation of the cures performed by the supposed miraculous interposition of the Prince de Hohenlohe, in consequence of the false notions very generally entertained respecting their real nature. Neither those who receive them as miracles, nor those who reject them, sup- pose that they admit of a natural explanation ; the former clino-inoj to them with all the warmth of religious zeal, and the latter rejecting them with all the satisfaction of incredulity. Neither does this misunderstanding appear to be confined to this discussion'in particular, Hume, who re- jected miracles altogether, so far as they rested on human testimony alone, and Dr. Middleton, who denies all those recorded subsequent to the days of the apostles, do not appear to have been aware that miraculous cures admitted of such an ex- planation : even Paley, who is generally better in- formed on such subjects, is not sufficiently clear s

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on this point. That the Roman Catholic clergy have been led to announce this miracle to their flocks, from a firm conviction of its truth, I am satisfied, as well from the above consideration, as that I cannot entertain the gross supposition that they would lend themselves to an imposture of this nature.

That the Prince de Hohenlohe has performed cures by his operations, more or less perfect, is a fact established on such unquestionable testimony as cannot admit of reasonable doubt ; and the case of Mrs, Stuart affords as good an example of his success as could be adduced. The certificates of her medical attendants afford ample proof of the extent of her malady, and her present condition, to which I can testify myself, from having had the pleasure of a personal interview, is sufficient proof of her recovery. The case of Miss Lalor is pro- bably also true in statement, though it is not per- haps supported by such decisive evidence. It is however equally true that these cures admit of an easy and natural explanation, founded on the fol- lowing established physiological doctrine, " That the phenomena of life, such for instance as di- gestion, secretion, growth and motion, are in an extraordinary degree subject to the control, and influenced by the operations of the mind ; whe- ther exerted immediately as in a train of thought, or secondarily from an impression from without ; and that the derangement or interruption of these

functions constituting disease, are equally subject to such control and influence : nay, that the mental impression is infinitely more powerful in particular diseases than any effect capable of be- ing produced by the administration or application of medicine."

The first step in this inquiry is to determine how far the vital functions in a state of health are influenced by mental emotion, at the same time connecting these efforts with those produced by the actual application of medicine. The instances are so obvious, that in recounting I probably only recal them to the memory of my readers. A hungry man sitting down to a plentiful meal in- stantly loses all desire to partake of it should an account arrive of the death of a beloved relative j the approach of a son absent for many years, the presence of an officer to arrest him for some griev- ous offence, or any other affecting occurrence. Here then are the passions of grief, joy, or fear capable of at once removing the poignant sensa- tion of hunger, an effect which may be produced with equal certainty and celerity by the adminis- tration of a quarter of a grain of emetic tartar, or any medicine of similar character. Suppose this man to have finished his meal, the same circum- stances cause an immediate suspension of the di- gestive process : general uneasiness, heartburn, and eructations, with other symptoms supervene, and these again are such consequences as would

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result from the administration of the same medi- cine. Similar passions are capable of arresting sleep, and inducing the most distressing state of restlessness, a condition which as certainly follows the exhibition of a cup of strong tea. Fear seems, of all the passions, that which is most capable of producing extraordinary effects, some of which are temporary, and others, as we shall see pre- sently, constitute permanent and unmanageable disease. A novice in thieving is detected in the act, and flies before the owner of the property ; his heart beats rapidly and convulsively, his breathing becomes hurried and difficult, his mus- cles lose their power of acting, and he sinks down exhausted long before he would have yielded to mere fatigue. Terror in another form operates differently. The stupidest of all jesters, the actor of practical jokes, dresses as a spectre and presents himself before a timid woman j her hair stands erect, the blood flies from her cheek, and she sinks down in violent convulsions, or perhaps life itself is extinguished. But on certain occasions, and in particular persons, tJie effect is still more striking. I allude to its influence in producing conti-action of the muscles of the intestines and bladder, and its consequences ; and its action on the extreme ves- sels of tlic skin in the production of profuse per- spiration. Blushing arises from those minute vessels of the skin admitting red blood, which a moment before received transparent fluids only. Here then

Is a marked change wrought in the state of the circLihition by a most delicate impression on the imagination : a word, a glance, a sign is sufficient to produce the same condition of the vessels, which results from the mechanical operation of friction, the excitement of a stimulating applica- tion, or an increase of bodily exertion. The voice is another function sensibly influenced by mental emotion, and consequently by external impressions ; fear and rage frequently take away the power of utterance ; the various feelings which agitate a man when he first essays to deli- ver his opinions before a large audience produce a rema^'kable and singular condition of the organ of voice, sometimes totally paralyzing its faculties. Laughter, which may be looked upon as a kind of convulsive action of the muscles of respiration and the organ of voice, accompanied by peculiar sensa- tions, is excited by a pleasant train of thought, a humourous narration, or the grimaces of a moun- tebank, and may be with equal certainty called forth by the mechanical application of the fingers to the ribs, or the nails to the sole of the foot. Sleep is induced by monotonous sounds constantly repeated ; — the baby's hushaby is as efficacious as the discourse of a dull speaker destitute of a va- riety of cadence : the effects of opium, and other narcotics in producing the same effects, are well known. The influence of music on the muscular system is notorious ; few persons can keep their

their toes quiet while they hear a favourite dance played, and still fewer can resist the propensity they feel to inarch in time while they pass a military band in the street. The best exam- ples of the influence of mental impressions upon the operations of the animal economy may be ob- tained from a contemplation of its effects on the glandular system and secretion in general. By a judicious encomium on a savoury dish I fill the mouth of a hungry gourmand with saliva, or in common language, I make his teeth water. I accomplish the same end by the application of a few grains of salt to the tongue. The occur- rence of some misfortune, or a pathetic narration, stimulates the lachrymal gland to secretion as certainly as an irritating application to the nose or eye. The Sorrows of Werter, or the mustard-pot under the nose of a young lady, are equally effica- cious. A paroxism of rage sets the liver secret- ing, and the intestines and stomach are over- flowed with bile. " The singing of a bagpipe i*the nose" is reported to have a strange effect upon certain squeamish constitutions. I had nearly forgotten two very appropriate illustra- tions of this doctrine, the first is the very acute and painful impression made upon the nervous system by the cutting of a cork, grinding of a knife, or sharpening of a saw ; and the second is the power we possess of producing yawning by presenting the gestures which accompanies it to

the eye of a bye-stander, either in reality or by a good drawing. A wager is very often laid with a person unacquainted with the circumstances, that he shall not sneeze within a given time, however great the quantity of snufFhe may take j it is won by watching when the inspiration which precedes the act commences, and then suddenly calling off the attention to another ob- ject ; the anxiety to succeed is also often suffi- cient to prevent the occurrence without any such interruption. These examples are surely suffi- cient to establish the reciprocal influence of the imagination, and the common operations of the animal economy.

Poxver of the Imagination in jjroducing Disease*

I have now to shew the power of the imagina- tion, and consequently of external impressions made upon it in the production of disease. For this purpose I avail myself of a very full chapter on this subject by Zimmerman, and have very little to add to it.*

*' Ail the passions, when carried to excess, bring on very formidable diseases. Sometimes they oc- casion death, or bring us at least into imminent danger. The most reputable physicians agree in opinion, that terror may occasion apoplexy, and

* See his Treatise on Experience in Physic, translated from the German, London, 1782.

death j and indeed, they consider apoplexy as the most common effect of violent rage. Without even being carried to excess, it will sometimes occa- sion a difficulty of breathing, together with a sense of stricture in the breast, and an hesitation to speak, the tongue remaining as it were immove- ably fixed to the palate. The weaker passions speak, the stronger passions are mute. Hysterical and hypochondriacal affection, and likewise melan- choly, may indeed arise from many physical causes ; but these diseases are likewise sometimes the effects of grief in the most healthy people, although we are unable to say how this is ef- fected.

Violent transports of the mind, will likewise oc- casion the return of particular diseases, at a time when from the state of the patient there would seem to be nothing to fear. This is particularly instanced in epilepsy. I have likewise observed that in hysterical women when the disorder was in a high degree, the spasmodic affection becoming less violent and frequent, was not so much to be considered as a sign of their recovery, as their be- ginning to be less affected by certain ideas, which in health produced no perceptible effect, but which, when the disease was present, constantly excited a fixed and terrified look, difficulty of res- piration, and spasmodic movement of the limbs. The body follows the affections of the soul in these cases, and acts as the soul feels. It will

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therefore not be amiss for us to consider the prin^ cipal effects of the most sensible passions, because different passions very often produce different ef. fects 3 or the same passions may excite different circumstances, either in the same or different in- dividuals.

Joy, which Cicero has very well defined, a vo- luptuous transport of the soul, and in which he contended a wise man ought not to indulge him- self, although he himself confesses in an unex- pected moment to have given into it even to excess ; this passion I say is much more dan- gerous to life than sudden grief. The in- stances we meet with of the fatal effects of sudden joy, are more numerous than those of the latter. Sophocles, being desirous of proving that at an advanced age he was in full posses- sion of his intellectual powers, composed a tra- gedy, was crowned, and died through joy. The same thing happened to Philippides the comic writer. We see Chilon, of Lacedemon, embracing his son who had borne away the prize at the Olym- pic games, and dyi^g in his arms. Two Roman ladies, seeing their sons return from the battles of Trasymenus and Cannse, died in the same manner. M. Juventius Thalna, on being told that a triumph had been decreed to him for having subdued Cor- sica, fell down dead before the altar at which he was offering up his thanksgiving. Vaterus relates, that a brave soldier, who had never been sick, died

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suddenly in the arms of an only daughter, whom he had long wished to see. A worthy family in Holland being reduced to indigence, the elder brother passed over to the East Indies, acquired considerable riches there, and returning home, presented his sister with the richest jewels : the young woman, at this unexpected change of for- tune, became motionless and died. The famous Fouquet died on being told that Louis XIV. had restored him to his liberty. The niece of the cele- brated Leibnitz, not suspecting that a philosopher would hoard up treasure, died suddenly, on open- ing a box under her uncle's bed, which contained sixty thousand ducats. Dr. Mead tells us that in the memorable year of the South Sea bubble, more of those went mad who acquired fortunes, than of those who lost them.

Laughter, when in excess, has sometimes oc- casioned death. Thus it is related of ^euxis, that having 'painted an old woman, and attentively considered the picture, he found it so singularly grotesque as to die through laughter. Philemon was walking in a garden, with his friends, when an ass came trotting towards them, and with great composure ate a dish of figs. " This ass, (said Philemon) Vv^ould, perhaps choose to have wine with his figs :" the wine was brought, the ass drank it., and Philemon laughed to excess, and died.*

*• There is a deficiency of examples of disease produced by laughter, yet it han probably had its effects in many instances.

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Anger is a violent transport of the soul, joined to a desire of revenge. The effects of this passion seem to be to stimulate every thing that is sensi- ble and moveable in man. The face reddens, the eyes sparkle, the muscles are contracted, and the heart beats with increased quickness, even an hun- dred and forty strokes in a minute. Violent an- ger has sometimes produced hemorrhages and sub^ cutaneous extravasations ; or some vessel of the brain becoming ruptured by these transports, a fatal apoplexy has taken place. Sometimes the whole mass of blood seems to retreat towards its centre, the cutaneous veins disappear, the face be- comes pale, the voice is faultering or altogether lost, an universal tremor takes place, and the per- son who is thus affected, totters, and at length falls down in a state of insensibility, and perhaps dies, unless nature is speedily relieved. There have been some instances of excessive anger being suc- ceeded by epilepsy, colic, or a violent degree of fever.

I was called not long ago, in company with Dr. Wasterli, to a young woman who had fallen into a convulsive state in consequence of a violent fit of anger. She seemed to have an extreme stricture of the breast, and was unable to swallow, or to speak ; but yet as she sat supported in her chair, her legs trembled with violence, and she groaned incessantly during the hour she continued in this state. Violent anger has sometimes the effect of

tjxciting an increased flow of bile. In some, this occasions vomiting ; in others, it passes off down- wards, and causes diarrhoea ; or by being retained, from a stricture of the gall ducts, will perhaps be absorbed, and thus occasion jaundice. In cases where anger has been succeeded by extreme grief, obstructions have taken place in the liver.

The effects of terror are merely similar to those of anger, but in general are more violent. Like anger it occasions sudden palpitation of the heart, weakness and trembling of the knees, so that a man in this state is unable to save himself by flight. In some cases terror has not only excited immedi- ate convulsions, but has occasioned them to return periodically. Dr. Tissot tells us of a peasant who having dreamt that a serpent was twisted round his arm, exerted some violent effort to relieve himself from this supposed enemy, and his arm was for a long time subject to a violent convulsive mo- tion, which returned three or four times a day, and sometimes lasted an hour. Epilepsy is in- deed sometimes cured by excessive fright, but it is the more usual efl'ect of terror to occssion this dis- order. Wepfer has given us a case in this way, where the patient first became epileptic after an excessive fright, and afterwards died apoplectic. I remember to have seen a woman at Gottingen attacked with epilepsy from being suspected of having killed her child.

Fear has been said to make the hair stand up-

right, and to contract the pores from which the hairs issue in the same manner as cold does. There are instances in authors even of the colour of the hair being changed by excessive fright. Thus Pechlin relates that a young man, who was shipwrecked near Leghorn, became suddenly grey, and was so twenty years after this accident, though before this his hair was black. Stahl speaks of a young man of family, who being con- demned to death for some enormous crime, be- came grey likewise in the space of a single night.* Many observations tend to prove that sudden fear has occasioned syncope and even death. The face grows pale, the blood seems to stop in the vena cava or in the right auricle of the heart, the vessels become distended, and the heart itself in these cases has sometimes burst. Philip II. king of Spain only said to his first minister the cardinal Espinosa, Cardinal know that I am master : and the minister was so much terrified that he died a few days afterwards. The same prince perceiving that one of his ministers answered him with some hesitation, gave him a severe rebuke j the mi- nister withdrew from the apartment and died. Philip V, died suddenly on being told that the Spaniards had been defeated, and on opening him his heart was found ruptured. Timid peo-

'* Many such cases are recorded ; several are said to have occurred in tlie French revolution.

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pie are more liahle^tkan others to fall sick. A firmness of mind is one of the best preservatives against contagion. Rivinus attributed the pro- pagation of the plague at Leipsic wholly to fear. Willis has very well observed that they who fear the small-pox the most are generally the first to be attacked with it. Cheyne assures us that fear is extremely prejudicial in all epidemical diseases. Dr. Rogers remarks that fear constantly increases the ravages of a contagious disease.

Fear is extremely prejudical to delicate people, and above all to hypochondriacal and hysterical pa- tients, because these subjects from their excessive sensibility are susceptible of the least impressions, and the latter are continually suffering from imagi- nary ills. Tulpius tells us of an indolent man v>'ho was rendered miserable by reading medical books. An Hypochondriac who studied under Boerhaave used to fancy he had the disorder described in each lecture. The imagination of this man was indeed so powerful, that he commonly appeared to have something like the disease he had heard explained.

Fear generally increases the danger and fatality of diseases, disturbs their ordinary course, and occasions new and unusual symptoms. It weakens the powers of nature so much that the disease be- comes superior to every remedy. I remember to have seen a man ill with a miliary fever, which seemed to be going on favourably, but a sudden

fright proved fatal toSum; BwrThe died within half an hour after it happened.

The idle stories of apparations, haunted houses, and witchcraft, which are so generally told to chil- dren, give them impressions of timidity, which they afterwards find difficult to remove, even in advanced life and with the best sense. I could relate many instances of the fatal effects of these impressions both in children and adults. Some time ago I had the care of a poor woman of se- venty years of age, who had an erysipelatous fever which was very long and dangerous in its course, and was apparently brought on by the dread of an apparition. This poor woman lived in a lonely house which had the reputation of being haunted, and she one night fancied she saw in the person of a large mastiff, the much talked of spirit. Her terror was excessive, she shrieked out, and fell down in a state of insensibility. When she came to herself she complained of anxiety, sick- ness at the stomach, and extreme head ach ; the next day she had considerable fever, and on the day following her head was exceedingly inflamed and a great part of it covered with an erysipelat- ous eruption. Modesty may be considered as a more moderate species of fear, and when carried to excess sometimes occasions the most alarmins!' effects in women.

Sorrow acts either suddenly or by slow degrees, in proportion to its violence and continuance.

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Its objects and causes being different according to the degree or suddenness of any misfortune, or its being present, or past, or likely to happen, the effects of this passion will be various. There are not so many examples of fatal effects from grief as from joy, because grief, although it di- minishes the energy of the nervous system, slackens rather than accelerates the circulation. There are some instances however, of sudden grief having proved fatal. It is related of Dio- dorus Clu'onos, who was considered as the most subtile logician of the time of Ptolemy- Soter, that Stilbo one day in the presence of the king pro- posed a question to him, to which he was unable to reply ; the king willing to cover him with shame pronounced only one part of his name and called him ovog, ass, instead of Chronos. Diodorus was so much affected at tliis as to die soon afterwards. Horace was so much grieved at the loss of his friend and patron Mecenas, as to survive him only nine days. Montaigne tells ns of a German, who was killed at the siege of Osen, after hav- ing performed wonders in the field ; one of the general officers desired to see the corpse of so gal- lant a man, and the body being brought before him, he discovered in it the features of his own son, and died on the spot. Dr. Tissot speaks of the father of a numerous family, who having lost a wife, whom he tenderly loved, became suddenly asthmatic. One of our oldest and most unin-

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formed practitioners conceived a fancy that tlie seat of the patient's disease was elsewhere, and gave drastic purges in order to bring down the hemorrhoids. But at the end of two days the pa- tient died, and on opening the body, the kings were found inflamed, and the heart burst. It happened not long ago at London, that an Eng- lishman who attended the funeral of his wife, lost tlie use of all his limbs, and continued speechless for some time afterwards. Almost in the very moment that I am writing. Prince George Louis of Holstein having lost his wife, directed her corpse to be removed from the coffin in which it was placed, into another of more costly materi- als ; and when this was done, the prince kneeling down at the side of the coffin, desired his Valet de Chambre to read to him some pages of a pious book, melted into tears, and soon afterwards died.

If violent grief is speedy and very fatal in its effects, that which preys more slowly on a feeling mind, is no less dangerous to health. Slow and silent sorrow, gradually undermines the best and most healthy constitution. We every day see in- stances of incurable diseases, brought on by this cause. Point out to me, said Cicero, a remedy for that kind of grief which carried off the ami- able Octavius.

This slow, corroding grief, gradually destroys the energy of the nervous system, the appetite

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and sleep : occasions indigestion ; renders the pulse slow, weak, and commonly unequal ; the tone of the heart becoming weakened, the blood is carried slowly through the lungs, and would per- haps stop there, were not its progress accelerated by frequent, involuntary sighs. In the minute vessels of the skin, the circulation is likewise ex- tremely feeble, and hence the paleness and sad- ness of the complexion. In short, the body and soul in this melancholy state seem reciprocally to prey on each other.

The uneasiness that is occasioned by an ex- treme desire to revisit one's native country, is the source of a particular disease named Nostalgia. This disorder, which announces itself by melan- choly, trembling of the limbs, and some other symptoms, sometimes proves fatal in a short time. The Swiss are exceedingly subject to this disease when in a foreign country ; and it has been even spoken of as peculiar to that people, but every day's experience proves the natives of every country to be liable to it. Barrere has seen it in several Burgundy soldiers, who were forced into the service, or refused their dismission. Dr. Auenbrucker, physician to the Spanish hospital at Vienna, has likewise frequently observed it in young people, who had been enlisted by force, and despaired of ever seeing their home and friends again. These young soldiers were at first silent, languid, pensive, emitted deep sighs.

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seemed exceedingly sori'owful, and gradually be- came insensible to every thing. The same phy- sician tells us that this disorder, which was for- merly so frequent amongst the Austrian troops, is now extremely rare, since a plan has been adopted of enlisting soldiers only for a certain number of years, and giving them a discharge when that time is expired. I have it from seve- ral Scotch physicians and officers, that this dis- order is by no means uncommon amongst their countrymen. Indeed, I believe it will be met with in men of every nation, who in foreign coun- tries feel the want of those delights and enjoy- ments they would meet with amongst their friends at home. In short, every Swiss feels as I do, the Nostalgia, under another name, though at home, whenever he thinks he should live better in any other country. The Nostalgia excites and cher- ishes the most singular fancies, which no argu- ments or medicines or even punishment can re- move. The only resource is to find out a way to please the patient, but when phthisis has really ma- nifested itself, even this discovery will be of no rse. Amongst the melancholy passions we may very properly include lo\'e. This acts suddenly and with violence, because of all the passions it is the most impatient, and tlie least susceptible of con- trol J sometimes, however, it is more slow in progress, and like intense grief gradually under- mines the constitution. The more general effects

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of this tender passion are a tremulous pulse, deep sighs, an alternate glow and paleness of the cheeks, dejection, loss of appetite, a faultering speechj cold sweats and watchfulness, v;hich gra- dually terminate in consumption, or perhaps oc- casion insanity. Disappointment in love, is likewise occasionally productive of other symp- toms. Tulpius tells us of a young English- man, who having met with a refusal from a lady, became perfectly rigid and motionless, sit- ting in the same attitude with his eyes open, and appearing rather like a statue than a hu- man being ; he continued in this posture till night, and then, on being told that his mistress yielded to his passion, he rose instantly as if from a profound sleep, became more chearful, and soon recovered."

On the influence of the imagination iii the cure of disease.

In the two preceding sections, I have adduced a number of facts to prove the influence of the imagination over the ordinary operations of the animal economy, as well as the power it possesses of disturbing those operations, and producing dis- ease. It remains to be determined xcJielher this influence be sirfficiently poiiseyjul to counteract any interruption of the vital functions ^ or in other xvords whether disease can by such means be cured

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or remedied. This influential power of the mind over the body in removing disease has long been recognized and acted upon. The sensible phy- sician is in the constant practice of prescribing in certain diseases, relaxation from business, pleasing society, change of scene, amusements, the peru- sal of entertaining books, the theatre, or any other attainable enjoyment. Native air and wa- tering places are recommended in many cases, not so much from an expectation of beneficial effects from any peculiarity of the atmosphere, or medi- cinal power of the water, as/rom the influence of new objects and habits upon the mind; in reality it is absurd to suppose that a person should derive any advantage from the air of a particular part of the country, merely because it was that which he first breathed, unless indeed it be better than that where he may at the time reside. Military sur- geons are well aware of the value of agreeable car- riage exercise, and short journies to their sick, and such means has been occasionally resorted to in the worst cases of fever with marked advantage : the wounded of an army are said to do better on a march than in hospital. Much may with justice be attributed in such cases to the greater purity of the air abroad than within doors, but I think a fair proportion of the advantage may be ascribed to the influence on the mind. Every physician must have observed the bad effect of mental de- pression in fever, and that the fatal termination is

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in many cases ascribable to the operation of such a cause. I knew an instance where a patient was sinking under the effects of a lingering fever ; the physician, who was a man of sense, desired his fa- mily to tell him that a lawsuit, about which he was very anxious, had been decided in his favour ; the effect was better than from the apothecary's ju- lep, and he recovered : luckily the lawsuit was shortly after decided in his favour. The nature of the mental impression must be suited to the disease which it is proposed to remedy. It is re- lated that a certain celebrated buffoon in London, who caused great amusement to the admirers of broad grins, once waited upon an eminent physi- cian with a long catalogue of imaginary ills, pooh ! said the doctor, go and see Grimaldi. Alas, re- plied the afflicted complainant, 1 am that unhappy person. The doctor sent him on a tour to the lakes, and I conclude that he recovered. The story may be false, but is one in point, and I use it without scruple. Actual bodily pain is fre- quently suspended by mental emotion ; many of my readers could probably supply me with an ex- ample, in recounting how their tooth aches in- stantly disappeared when they knocked at the door of a dentist. In battle grievous wounds are frequently scarcely felt during the heat of ac- tion, and in storming a breacli, are not even per- ceived until the object is attained or lost. At sea an invalid sailor will rise from his hammock

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and fight with desperation, and when all is over re- lapse into his former condition, or remain well. The effect of terror in calming violent spasmodic action of the stomach is remarkable ; the most distressing sea sickness is immediately removed, if the danger of shipwreck become imminent. The paralytic, the gouty, and the rheumatic have been known to fly with rapidity from a burning house. The effect of music in soothing and relieving disease is well known. Farinelli, the wonder and delight of the last century, is said to have cured Philip the Fifth of Spain by this means. This prince had fallen into a most distressing state of melancholy, which caused hini- to neglect the affairs of the kingdom, and absent himself from the council : the queen determined to try the effect of music. She caused a concert to be prepared in an apartment near that of the king, at which Farinelli struck up on a sudden one of his finest airs. The monarch, who was ex- tremely sensible to harmony, appeared at first surprised, and shortly after much affected. At the end of the second air he called for the musi- sician, loaded him with caresses, and desired him to name his recompense. Farinelli requested that he should permit himself to be shaved, and go to council. From that moment the disease became amenable to medicine.* The bite of the

* See the Dictionnaire Universe! Historique, Critique, &c. Farinelli.

24-

Tarantula, a species of spider, is supposed by the people of the country where it is found to be cured by music. t I am deficient in further examples on this head : many could pro- bably however be produced. The effect of a counter impression in lethargy resulting from grief is remarkable : persons are often relieved by calling their attention to some interesting ob- ject. A widovf in a state of stupefaction for the loss of a husband, on having her child produced before her, has been relieved by a flood of tears. Certain nauseous and disgusting remedies have been used, especially by the vulgar, and some- times with success ; as they possess no activity as medicines their operation must be altogether ascribed to the impression they make on the mind. They are generally used in nervous diseases, which are of all others the most likely to be af- fected by such means. Living lice have been given to cure epilepsy ; the common millipede was formerly kept in the apothecaries' shops for the same purpose, and human blood and fat was also used : the latter is a common remedy with the vulgar to the present day j they often come to seek it at the schools of anatomy. Up to a very recent period certain portions of the human scull, the ossa triguetra, were to be found in the shops, and were noticed in the dispensatories. Paul Barbette, a surgeon who practised in Amsterdam

f Sec Vfuider Wiel ob». rarior.

25

about 130 years ago, recommends oil of scorpions ^as an. ointment in the plague : human fat, earth worms, the excrement of a gander, and powdered swallows, form part his materia medica. Within the memory of men of the present day the cold fit of the ague has been diverted by the adminis- tration of a living spider. Scratching with a dead man's hand is said to cure the scrofula. Powdered toads is a popular remedy. The jflesh of the viper is eaten to cure its own bite. In cit- ing these examples, I do not mean to assert that such remedies would be likely often to cure dis- eases, but the number is sufficient to show, that the principle upon which they operate has thus to a certain extent been tacitly acknowledged. No one will, I believe, be hardy enough to assert that charms can produce any effect upon disease except through the intervention of the imagination, and yet we have every reason for supposing, as far as creditable evidence goes, that they occasionally are effectual. We cannot, I think, reject the tes- timony of the numberless witnesses in favour of the charming off of warts. The operation is per- formed by taking a joint of straw or a pebble for each wart, touching the diseased parts separately with one, and then enclosing the whole in a bag, and either burying it or casting it on the high- way, in which case whoever finds it is suppos- ed to get the warts for his pains. The atten- tion of the child is first roused by the cere-

26

monial of tlie appllcatioiij and it is kept continually on the stretch while it watches for the expected result. Here then is a well marked local disease, a morbid growth of the cuticle, removed by a^ mental impression. The instance is a strong one, and the inference can only be set aside by a de- nial of the fact altogether. Pills of bread have been administered with effect, either for the re- moval of imaginary complaints, or to quiet the mind of the patient until the best of all physi- cians, nature, had operated a cure. The story has often been told of the patient who, from sim- plicity, swallowed the paper on which his pre- scription was written, and experienced the effects he expected ; the fact, however, rests on good authority. A professor of mathematics at Pisa, Ranier Gerbi, published a memoir to show, that a dozen of a certain insect, whose name I forget^ if bruised between the finger and tliumb, would endow the person with the power of curing the tooth-ach for twelve months. Out of 6'29, he says, he cured 401 j this is circumstantial at least. Amulets, if they possess any power, must derive it from the influence of the imagination, unless indeed they contain some active remedy, as ar- senic, or corrosive sublimate, as is sometimes the case : they generally are mere toys, a small bag containing powder of dried toads, spiders, and such things. Tlie Cossack relies on the image of St. Nicholas j the Mahometan on a part of the

27

Koran ; in Ireland the enclosure is generally a verse of the Testament. In certain cases the operation on the imagination is combined with actual mechanical impression on the nervous sys- tem through the skin. The metallic tractors, which were supposed to produce their effects through the agency of magnetism, were metallic rods, which were gently drawn over the affected part in different directions. Their claims to mag- netic influence were rejected, on the grounds of the same effects being produced by wooden rods. The shampooing, as imported from the east, and a new and fashionable remedy which the doctors call *' acupuncturation,^^ may be ranked under the same head. This latter plan consists in the intro- duction of a needle through the skin in the vici- nity of the affected part. I would advise all per- sons who wish to try it to have recourse to it be- fore its character is lost. The stopping of bleed- ing from the nose, by placing a cold weight on the back of the neck, belongs to this class of remedies. The extraordinary powers frequently attributed to new medicines, and the high character which they suddenly acquire and as rapidly lose, may be accounted for by a recurrence to the above princi- ple : it enables us also to explain, in a certain de- gree, the cause why so many inert remedies en- cumber our catalogues of medicines, as well as the reason of the success of quack remedies. I have yet to notice one of the best authenticated exam-

28

pies on record of the cure of disease by impression on the mind. *' A girl, in the hospital at Harlem, upon receiving a great fright fell into convulsions. Immediately, all who crowded round her to see or assist her, were seized in the same manner. For the space of two days the disorder continued to be propagated ; attacking one person successively at the sight of another, till almost all the boys and girls in the house laboured under the paroxysm. The physicians of the place assembled, and pre- scribed the most powerful nervous medicines with- out any effect : at length recourse was had to Boerhaave, who, observing in what manner the disorder was communicated, resolved to try the force of an expedient which might affect the ima- gination. Accordingly, ordering several portable furnaces to be placed in the apartments, on which were laid burning coals, and hooks of iron of a particular shape, he informed them, that since medicines had proved ineffectual, he knew of no other remedy than that the person who should be seized with the next paroxysm, whether boy or girl, should be burnt in the arm with a hot iron, as far as the bone. All were struck with such terror, on hearing this sentence announced, that when the paroxysm would again have seized them, they endeavoured with aii their power to resist its progress, and their resolution was attended with success.'*

To these instances I have to add the follow- ing : A gentleman, upon whose veracity I can rely, and who had the care of a military hospital, had a number of patients affected with ague. He received from a lady an infallible remedy in the form of a packet of brown paper, containing ano- ther paper, upon which certain words were writ- ten, and the whole sealed with three seals. This packet was worn by the patient some time previ- ous to the expected approach of the cold fit, and in many instances with the effect of preventing the paroxysm, and even of accomplishing a com- plete cure. So satisfied were the men of this, that the paper was so constantly in use that it was worn out, and it was found necessary to make a new one without having recourse to the lady for the original charm. This new one, as might have been expected, proved equally effica- cious. I once saw a girl who had swallowed a pin, and believed that it remained sticking in her throat, probably in consequence of its having in- jured the passage in its descent, and nothing could persuade her to the contrary, though in- struments were repeatedly passed down. The surgeon at length adopted the following plan : he took a pin in his hand along with the instru- ment used for extracting such bodies, and when he withdrew the instrument flung the pin dex- terously into the basin, so as to lead her to sup- pose that it had been drawn from her throat.

30

She never after felt any annoyance from this cause. Dr. Pfeuffer relates the following case : G. H. a peasant, who seldom quitted his bed, and when he did so, was sustained on crutches, in consequence of gouty complaints, at the age of seventy-seven years entertained a wish again to see his son, a student of theology. His wish was granted in about two years : scarcely did he hear of his arrival when he got out of bed and proceeded to the church, without crutches or support of any kind, and remained there two hours. He, at the present moment, walks about his village without crutches. He also relates the case of a girl at Wurtzbourg, who had been deaf for a long time, and who all at once recovered the power of hearing when told that her father had died suddenly.

Whether the cures perforrned hy tlie Prince, de Hohenlohe do not admit of a ready explanati&tiy founded an tJw facts above stated.

I have now stated what I had to advance res- pecting the influence of the imagination on the ordinary operations of the animal ceconomy, as well as in the production and cure of diseases, ft remains to show whether the cures performed by

31

persons advancing pretensions to supernatural power are effected by means of such influence. Pretensions of this nature have been set up at different times by persons of all denominations, rich and poor, Christians and heathens, princes and beggars, the wicked and the good ; and in carrying them into operation, more or less of ce- remonial, and circumstances calculated to excite awe, have been resorted to. Sometimes this ce- remonial has consisted in the exhibition of un- meaning gestures and childish arrangements, but far more generally in exciting religious enthusi- asm. If then the passions can produce such ef- fects as those which have been recounted, what may not be expected from such a concentration of them as religious enthusiasm presents ; hope, fear, joy, surprise, suspense and admiration, all in operation on one weak mind at the same mo- ment, surely there cannot be conceived a condi- tion more extraordinary, or mental impression of greater, strength.

I shall now proceed to record some examples of cures said to have been performed by miraculous interposition, and shall begin with those recorded by Tacitus, as having been performed by Vespa- sian. " Vespasian, (as that historian relates,) passed some months at Alexandria, having re- solved to defer his voyage to Italy till the return of summer, when the winds blowing in a regular direction afford a safe and pleasant navigation.

S2

During his residence in this city, a number of incidents out of the ordinary course of nature seemed to mark him as the particular favourite of the gods. A man of mean condition, born at Alexandria, had lost his sight by an affection of his eyes. He presented himself before Vespasian, and falling prostrate on the ground, implored the emperor to administer a cure for his blindness. He came, he said, by the admonition of Serapis, the god whom the superstition of the Egyptians holds in the highest veneration. The request was, that the emperor, with his spittle, would condescend to moisten the poor man's face, and the balls of his eyes. Another who had lost the use of his hand, inspired by the same god, beg- ged that he would tread on the part aifected, Vespasian smiled at a request so absurd and wild. The wretched object persisted to implore his aid. He dreaded the ridicule of a vain attempt, but the importunity of the men, and the crowd of flat- terers, prevailed upon the prince not entirely to disregard their petition. He ordered the phy- sicians to consider among themselves whether the blindness of the one, and paralytic affection of the other, were within the reach of human as- sistance. The result of the consultation was, that the organs of sight were not so injured but that by removing the obstruction to vision, the patient might recover. As to the disabled limb, by pro- per applications and invigorating medicines, it

* was not impossible to restore it to its former tone. Tlie gods, perhaps, intended a special remedy, and cliose Vespasian to be the instrument of their dispensations. If a cure took place, the glory of it would add new lustre to the name of C^sar, if otherwise, the poor men would bear the jests and raillery of the people. Vespasian, in the tide of his affairs, began to think that there was nothing so great or wonderful, nothing so improbable or even incredible, which his good fortune would not accomplish. In the presence of a prodigious multitude, all erect with expectation, he advanced with an air of serenity, and hazarded the experi- ment. The paralytic hand recovered its func- tions, and the blind man saw the light of the sun. By living witnesses who were actually on the spot, both events are confii'med at this hour, when de- ceit and flattery can hope for no reward." This is an interesting and valuable narration, and throws great light upon the present subject.

The next example which I shall make use of is the cure of the evil (hence called the King's evil) by the royal touch of the monarchs of France and England, and by the presentation of a cup of drink by the Princes of Austria of the House of Hapsburg. i\Iany probably look upon those pretensions as absurd, and rank them with other vulgar errors, but the accounts are so circumstantial, and the number of cures so care- fully noted, that they cannot be disregarded.

B

S4

Richard Wiseman and John Browne, surgeons to* Charles the second, testify respecting the cures performed by that monarch.* Wiseman says, p. 246, " Which admirable faculty of curing the struma i or King's evil, he (speaking of Edward the Confessor) is justly believed to have trans- mitted to his posterity the Kings of England, and to have continued it amono:st them to those times in which he wrote. And when Bishop Tooker would make use of this argument to prove the truth of our church, Smitheus does not deny the matter of 'fact, but rather chooseth to retort, that it is no miracle, because it may be performed by infidels, and attributes it to the goodness of God and grace of Saint Edward, saying that the gift did not fail in an unworthy successor, such as he calleth Queen Elizabeth ; and adds, that she did perform that, non virtute propria, sed virtide signi crucis ; not by her own virtue, but by vir- tue of the sign of the cross, which she made at the time of healing ; as if the sign of the cross, by whomsoever made, were sufficient to work a miracle. What would he now say were he living, and had seen it done by three generations of Kings, without the sign of the cross ? But it is not my business to enter into divinity controver- sies, all that I pretend to is, first the attestation

• See Wiseman's Chirurgical Treatises, and the Charisma Bftsilicon, or Royal gift of Healing, by John Browne.

ot the miracles, and secondly a direction for such as have not opportunity of receiving the benefit of that stupendous power. The former of these one v/ould think should need no other proof than the great concourse of strumous persons to White Hall, and the success they find in it. I myself have been a frequent eye witness of many hun- dred of cures performed by his majesties touch alone, without any assistance of chirurgery, and those many of them such as had tyred out the en- deavours of able chirurgeons before they came hi- ther. It were endless to recite what I myself have seen, and what I have received acknowledg- ments of by letter, not only from the several parts of this nation, but also from Ireland, Scot- land, Jersy and Garnsey." So much for Wise- man, a surgeon of the highest character, both at that period and in the present day. Browne seems to have attended still more carefully to these cures ; his account is very instructive and curious, and, as he says himself, " No man shall say the nut will not be worth cracking when he finds good meat therein." It is really worthy of perusal. He gives a tabular view of the number of persons touched from 1660 to 1682, the sum total in that period being 92,107. This is at any rate worthy of a comparison with the won- ders performed by medical men of the present day, as set forth in their Reports of cases ti'-eatedf 8^'C, Browne's account of the ceremonial is as d2

SB

follows : ** The day being come before his ma- jesty doth approach to his royal chair, which is generally after morning prayers, the chief offi- cer of the yeomen of the guard doth place the sick people in very convenient order for their ap- proaching the King v/ithout trouble or noise : the which done, his majesty enters his royal chair uncovered, at whose beginning there are generally two chaplains attending, one of which reading the ceremonies appointed for this service, his Majesty all the while being surrounded by his nobles, and many other spec- tators : the sick and diseased people being kept back by the chirurgeous till the appointed time, when after having made three obeisances, they do bring them up in order. The chief in waiting delivers them one by one to the king to be touched, the which done, the other takes him or her from him, and this method is used through- out the whole number which comes to be healed. Here follows at length the service performed, and the portions of the Scriptures read during the ceremony, the King at a particular part of it taking a small gold medal, strung on a bit of rib- bon for this purpose, puts it over the head of the patient on his neck. I beg the attention of the reader to tlic above circumstances ; the whole bears very strongly on the present question.

The next miraculous a/rcr whom I have to notice is Valentine Geatrakes, or Greatrakes,

37

an Irish gentleman. It must afford satisfaction to the present Irish believers in modern miracu- lous cures, to be informed that they had a coun- tryman endowed with this enviable faculty, and that the celebrated Mr. Boyle was a convert, with many others, to his pretensions. Greatrakes was very pious, simple and credulous, but a stranger to imposture ; he was persuaded that God had granted him the supernatural- power of curing diseases by the toych, and he operated with such lively faith in his own powers that he infused the same confidence into his patients. He removed pain by the application of his hands, and persons were relieved on the spot as if by enchantment : He removed vertigo, diseases of the ears and eyes, epilepsy, and even scrofulous and schirrous tumours. Some patients required a repetition of the touching, some were not affected at all. He believed himself honored by a divine gift, and had first been inspired, having heard a superna- tural voice in the night announcing his power of curing the evil. He discovered this circum- stance to his wife, who thought he had gone mad, or that his imagination was disturbed; but having met a scrofulous person, he touched and cured him, and taking confidence, he set to work so heartily in this curing occupation, that he was astonished himself at his miracles. He was a very mild man, and treated his patients with great kindncsy, and recommended strong-

38

ly to them the necessity of returning thanks to God.*

Gassner, whose method of operation will be found in the annexed memoir of Dr. Pfeufer, was . a Swiss enthusiast or impostor, an ecclesiastic, and a man of extraordinary credulity. From reflexions on his own weak constitution, he came to the conclusion that his head aches did not depend on natural causes but on the influence of the devil, and he acquired the power of repulsing his attacks by religious means ; his attempts having been successful, he practised in consequence ex- orcisms on many of his parislioners. He always first ascertained whether the disease was natural or diabolical ; compelling Satan to declare him- self if present, and if he answered not after three calls, and three signs of the cross, the disease was pronounced natural, and recourse should be had to ordinary means : but if the devil returned an answer, and the body of the patient became agitated by convulsions, then Gassner rubbing his hands to his waist, taking his stole and cross, and invoking impiously the name of Jesus, com- menced his handlings, pressing and kneading the body in various directions ; and thus succeeded in performing miraculous cures. He published in 1774 his " Method of leading a pious and at

* See the Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, Mag- netism animal ; also Pechlin observat. physico-nied.

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the same time a healthy life." There is one amusing and instructive fact connected with this man's history. Mesmer^ whose feats are pre- sently to be noticed, was invited by Prince Maximilian of Bavaria to come to Munich, to assist in deciding on the miracles of Gass- ner, and the exorcisms for which the priest- hood at that time claimed credit. He succeeded by means of his animal magnetism, in presence of the Prince and his whole court, in working fully as great cures as any which had been boasted of by the priest, and he explained these cures as the effects, not of any supernatural interference, but as produced by changes in the magnetism of those individuals who had been subjected to these experiments. For this piece of service he was made a member of the Munich academy, and from that period all priests v/lio venture to exorcise are subject to banishment.

The miracles of the Abb6 Paris have been re- peatedly alluded to by writers on this subject. I should have placed them before those of Gassner in chronological order. This man was a Parisian ecclesiastic, who led a life of seclusion and morti- fication. He dedicated his time to prayer and reli- gious observances, unless vvhat was spent in weav- ing stockings for the poor. He died in 1 727 ; and his brother having erected a tomb to him in the little church yard of St. Medard, the poor whom he had assisted, and the women whom he had in-

40

structed, went to pray there. Presently it went abroad that miraculous cures were performed at this tomb, the persons who extended themselves upon it falling into convulsions ; the sick were cured, the blind saw, and the tleaf heard. Many of these miraculous cures were officially proved in the Bishop's court in Paris ; they were sworn to by persons of credit and property, and every exer- tion was made to arrive at the source of the sup- posed imposture without effect. In fact the convulsions were produced, and real cures per- formed, as in other cases, by the mental impres- sion: The business caused such disturbance in Paris, that the court ordered the church yard to be shut up ; and one Montgeron, a violent sup- porter of the tombstone's pretensions, in the warmth of his zeal, and the simplicity of his heart, presented a quarto catalogue of the cures to the king, who sent him to the Bastille for his paiEs.

Of all the examples of cures performed by ex- citement of the imagination, not one has retained its celebrity so long as the animal magnetism, or Mes- merism, as it is sometimes called ; after a lapse of nearly one hundred years since it was first broached; it still has its adherents, and perhaps it remains to be determined, whether any other power than the mental impression operates in producing the results which distinguish it. It was first brought into general notice by Mesmer, a German, about the year 177^5, and he quickly acquired strong

41

testimonials in favour of the curative powers of his remedy. After practising with various success in different parts of Germany, he came to Paris. In great cities human intellect is constantly found de- teriorated in thousands of instances by impaired bodily health, bad education, slavish obedience to the laws of fashion, and free indulgence in every species of sensual gratification. Paris, therefore, presented a rich field for Mesmer to cultivate. With the assistance of a physician of the name of D*Eslon, who it is said afterwards realised fifty thousand pounds by the business, Mesmer com- menced his operations, and set all Paris in a fer- ment. His apparatus consisted in a tub, in which were arranged a number of bottles filled with water, and laid in a direction converging to the centre ; the tub was filled with water, and some pounded glass or iron filings added. The lid of the tub was perforated, so as to allow the passage of iron rods to convey the magnetism to the patient ; the mummery of grimaces, gestures, and handlings were superadded ; they even magnetized at a dis- tance by gestures alone. These marvellous pre- parations produced their natural result, great emotion, palpitations, twichings, spasms and con- vulsions. The charlatan himself, in a lilac co- loured silk gown, with a wand in his hand, stalked about to administer to each the necessary quantity of temporary insanity. The ladies, with their bo- dices unlaced, to relieve the suffocation they ex-

42

perienced, rolled about the room in a most en- gaging dishabille, and cures the most wonder- ful were the consequence. If all these effects may be attributed to the influence of impressions on the mind, what may not be accomplished by such means ?

The miraculous infant of Kherberg, whose cures are noticed in the annexed memoir of Dr. Pfeu- fer, evidently succeeded, not from any confidence in his medicinal skill, but from a notion that he possessed a miraculous power. I am persuaded that such an idea often contributes in Ireland to obtain celebrity for certain pretenders to medi- cine, the people arguing very rationally that from the man's ignorance and stupidity he must be in- capable of performing cures by the natural means, and that consequently he can only succeed by su- pernatural assistance. I cannot in any other way account for the success of many Innocents m the practice of physic.

The following is extracted from BridePs travels in Switzerland ; I believe they have never been translated : " There is in this part of Switzerland a beggar named llosino nearly one hundred years of age, who continues to profit by the ignorance and superstition of the country people. His body extenuated so as to resemble a skeleton, his long and snow white hair and his bent form, impart to his appearance what tends to confirm the com- mon report of his having an understanding with

43

the devil. This belief he encourages by many artifices, and with such success that his fame is far spread, and he is esteemed a most accomplished enchanter. He is a fortune teller, and cures all diseases. But his most profitable patients are those who are supposed to be possessed by an evil spirit. When he is employed to expel his infer- nal majesty he always chooses the middle of a dark night, at which time he leads the possessed per- son to some very retired and lonely cavern among the mountains. Here he suddenly assails the patient with blows in the face and kicks in the body, with the view, no doubt, of rendering the devil's residence uncomfortable. When this treatment has been continued long enough to convince the poor sufferer that this point has been gained, he cries out suddenly, " There he goes ! " There he goes !" and at the same moment fires a gun at the fugitive demon, in order to give him such a fright that he will be in no hurry to re- turn. After this the patient crawls home bruised from head to foot, and well satisfied with the efficacy of the cure."

The following successful experiment is re- corded in the French Dictionary of Medical Science : A person supposed to be possessed was brought before the bishop of Amiens in the reign of Henry the Third. The Bishop, whether he thought that the man's illness was counter- feited, or really believed in the power of

44

the mental impression in curing convulsive diseases, adopted the following plan. He or- dered a layman to dress in sacerdotal robes, and to read before the patient certain portions of Cicero's epistles, with all the ceremonies usually adopted at exorcisms. The consequence was, that the man departed effectually cured. In the same work is related the history of the cure of a girl labouring under chlorosis and paralysis by a sacra- mental benediction at Coiffy, near Bourbon les bains in 1 805.

After the facts which I have stated, and the observations I have made upon them, the reader probably anticipates what I have to say in con- trasting them v\dth the circumstances which ac- company the operations of the Prince de Hohen- lohe. Observe the progress of one of his cases from beginning to end. A person labouring under a distressing malady is told that the period of his cure has arrived ; that a wonderful man has appeared, and performs most extraordinary and miraculous cures, and that he is to be presently favoured with a visit from him, and as certainly cured j his faith is unbounded ; he looks upon the event as accomplished j the exhiliration produced by joy and hope produce a degree of cheerfulness and composure to which he had long been a stranger. The moment of the ceremony arrives, this wonderful prince presents himself j the strong- est ^motions are excited at the sight of him j the

45

prayer is uttered, and the prince, with a confident and cheering voice announces his cure, assists him with his own hand to rise, and encourages him to exertion. The exertion is made, the ice is broken, and a cure of longer or shorter continuance is ac- complished. A most important feature in this trans- action is, the actual bodily exertion made use of by the patient at the urgent solicitation of the prince, as well as the assistance rendered to the weak and tottering invalid by the support of the operator's own hand.

With respect to the cases of Miss Lalor and Mrs. Stuart it may be said that they were not subjected to these excitements produced by the personal exertions of the prince, the effect in their cases must be ascribed therefore to the im- pression produced by the consideration that a fo- reign prince, an ecclesiastic of high rank, a man celebrated for his piety, was then employed in offering up prayers for their recovery. The ce- lebration of the religious ceremony of the mass, the fervent prayers offered up by their friends and relatives, and their own hopes and anticipations, must surely be allowed to be capable of producing a very powerful excitement of the imagination, and an impression fully equal to any other. To me it affords a satisfactory explanation of their cures, which I am happy to find are more perma- nent than those recorded by Dr. Pfeufer : They afford, in my opinion, a valuable illustration of

46

the doctrine which I advocate, namely, that the imagination and passions have a powerful influ- ence, not only over the ordinary operations of the animal ceconomy^ hut in the production and cure of disease.

ERRATA. Page 3. ]. 9. For connecting these efforts read contrasting these effects. 6. 1. 1 9. For paroxism read paroxysm. 24. 1. 22. For was read were.

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