An essay on the influence of the imagination and passions in the production and cure of diseases

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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,

A 2

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

2

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

B 2

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

9

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

10

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.

11

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.

14

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.

16

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-

17

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

c

18

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.

19

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

c2

^

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

21

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

22

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

23

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.

39

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.

COUNTWAY LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
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