ments of Bengal and Bombay, with such observations on the case as the Board may judge necessary. 2. The Medical Board have now the honour to transmit two official copies of the case of Benjamin Mason, a farrier in his Majesty's 22d Dragoons, extracted from the journal of Mr. Tymon, the assistant surgeon of the regiment, which came to the Board authenticated in the fullest manner, both by Mr. Tymon and also by a certificate from Captain Broome, commanding the detachment. 3. The violence of the disease, and the decidedly successful practice that was adopted, make this case of hydrophobia of considerable interest, holding out, as it does, a rational prospect of cure in one of the most melancholy forms of disease, and accordingly deserving of being most carefully and extensively published. 4. Another case, which terminated fatally, showed that the cure of Benjamin Mason was in a great measure, if not solely, to be attributed to bleeding having been carried to the extent described by Mr. Tymon, thereby arresting the progress of the disease, and gaining time for the administration of the proper medicines. It is to this circumstance that the Medical Board think attention should be chiefly directed, and that, under all similar circumstances, this powerful remedy should be principally depended upon, and early adopted, as the disease, when fully formed, is rapid in its progress, and may possibly be soon too far advanced for even bleeding to fainting being of utility; for it is only from a copious loss of blood that the hope of recovery can be entertained, and as medical practitioners can always judge of the extent to which that can be carried with safety, the Medical Board consider it only necessary to draw their attention to it, when sanctioned by so marked an instance of success, as that stated in the case of Benjamin Mason. 5. Another case of the successful treatment of hydrophobia has been brought to the notice of the Board, in an extract from the Philosophical Magazine for August 1805.* This is mention See an account of a case of Hydrophobia, successfully treated by copious Bleeding and mercury. In two Letters from Dr. Robert Barton of Bent creek, Virginia, to Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia. New-York Medical Repository for 1805, page 15. Editors. ed as an additional illustration of the utility of bleeding, and further that, when it is not carried to sufficient extent at the beginning, a greater abstraction of blood becomes necessary than would otherwise have been required. This cure is stated to have been performed by a Dr. Burton, and communicated to Dr. Rush, both of Philadelphia, and must also be deemed authentic. For these satisfactory reasons, the Medical Board have been induced to notice it. (Signed) T. GAHAGAN, Physician-General and President Medical Board.-A. WATSON, M. D. 2d Member Medical Board. -ANDREW BERRY, 3d Member Medical Board. Resolutions of the Honqurable the Governor in Council dated 21st February, 1812. Resolved, That 250 printed copies of these proceedings, and of the certified case of recovery from hydrophobia to which they relate, be prepared at the Government Press, under the superintendence of the Medical Board, for the purpose of general circulation, being first attested by the signature of their Secretary.. By order of the Honourable the Governor in Council, G. STRACHEY, Secretary to Government. Observations on the Case of Ann Moore, called the BY A. HENDERSON, M. D. Physician to the Westminister General Dispensary. [From the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, for January 1813.] SOME account of Ann Moore, known by the appellation of the Fasting-Woman of Tutbury, having already appeared in your Journal, accompanied by certain speculations on her case, I am induced to transmit to you the particulars of a visit, which I had the curiosity to pay her, with my friend Mr. Lawrence, and another gentleman, when passing through Staffordshire, last summer; and to add a few remarks on her proceedings, with a view to undeceive the public in regard to her, and to expose the true / character of her pretensions. Previously to our visit, we had endeavoured to collect the opinions of the neighbourhood, concerning this case of alleged extraordinary abstinence. Of the medical gentlemen to whom we addressed ourselves, the majority seemed sceptical on the subject; though it did not appear that any very decisive means had been used by them to prove the fact of imposture: but, among the common people, there was the most implicit belief in the truth of the story; and, whenever we ventured to express any doubts, we were invariably referred to the watching, to which Ann Moore had been subjected, as a full and satisfactory refutation of our incredulity. On our arrival at Tutbury, we lost no time in proceeding to the dwelling of Ann Moore, whom we found sitting up in a bed so constructed as scarcely to admit of her using the recumbent posture. She did not seem in the least discomposed by our abrupt entrance; though, on reaching the house, some bustle was heard in the upper story, as if preparations had been making for our reception. From the appearance of her countenance, which was natural, and even healthy, and from that of her upper limbs, abdomen, and back, which we examined very carefully, she might be called rather thin; but many persons of her age, in perfect health, are much thinner. The abdomen was not contracted, nor did it present any peculiar appearance; nor was the pulsation of the aorta more distinctly perceptible that it is in the generality of persons. The lower extremities, however, seemed, to a certain extent, wasted and paralytic; the pulse was 94, firm and regular; both the hands and feet were moist; her mouth, as far as we were permitted to examine it, shewed no deficiency of saliva; and, on holding a mirror before her face, it was immediately covered with copious moisture. She spoke to us in a distinct and tolerably strong voice, and moved her arms and fingers with considerable force. There was an offensive urinous smell about the bed. In answer to the questions we put to her, she told us that, on the 31st of October, she would be just 51 years old; that she had tasted no solid food for upwards of five years, and no drink for nearly four years, and had no desire for either; that she never even wetted her lips, except when she washed her face, which happened about once a week; that she had voided no urine since the week before Easter three years, and no fæces. since that day (August 3) five years; that she had not slept or lain down in bed for more than three years; that she sometimes dozed, with her head reclining on the pillow, but never so as to forget herself; that she had frequently blisters applied to the back of her neck, on account of a giddiness in her head, and that they rose and discharged plentifully; but that in general, she did not experience much uneasiness, nor feel pain, except on pressure of the left hypochondrium; that when she took snuff, which she did habitually, it produced a flow of mucus from the nostrils; that her hands were generally moist; and that she perspired freely over the whole surface of the body, when she had fits. The nature of these fits she did not explain. Her mouth, according to her own declaration, she was unable to open, because it occasioned severe pain behind the jaws; but the lower jaw acted freely enough within the sphere in which she chose to move it in our presence, to show that there was nothing defective in the articulations; the masseter and temporal muscles were soft, and could not, therefore, resist its descent: besides, it was evident, when she spoke, that she could separate her teeth to some extent, and that without giving any indications of uneasiness. Of all the fingers of the left hand, except the index, she said that she had lost the use; the middle finger, indeed, she admitted, could be moved by external force, not by volition. But while Mr. Lawrence was examining the spot, where she complained of pain on opening her mouth, she was observed to use the finger in question without any difficulty. On attempting to raise the two remaining fingers, which were in a bent posture, she made some resistance, and complained of my hurting her. The left hand, she affirmed, was hotter than the other. Among the circumstances that tend to invalidate many of the above assertions, and, in particular, the statement respecting her prolonged abstinence, the following may be mentioned: 1. The natural and healthy appearance of her face. 2. The strength of her pulse, muscles, and voice. 3. The moisture of her mouth, nostrils, eyes, and whole surface of the skin.-If the functions of the stomach were entirely suspended, or even materially deranged, it is not likely that the saliva would continue to be regularly supplied, since the flow of it depends so much on the healthy state of that organ; and, without taking into account the occasional discharges from blisters and other causes, it is obvious, that the exhalation from the lungs and surface of the body, which we ascertained, beyond the possibility of doubt, must occasion a correspondent drain from the internal parts. But these excretions have been found to amount, in a healthy person, to more than 65 ounces in the day, Allowing them to be reduced, by disease, to one half that quantity, it is evident that they would still be sufficient to consume the whole substance of Ann Moore in a very few weeks. 4. The entireness of her intellectual faculties.-Long continued fasting has always been reckoned among the predisposing causes of insanity. In a case recorded by Tulpius, delirium supervened on the 12th day. The same occurrence took place in that related by Dr. Currie, though a considerable portion of nourishment had been conveyed into the system by means of injections. And, in the "Remarkable Case" described by Dr. Willan, in the second volume of the Medical Communications, much confusion of mind was observable in the latter periods of the disorder. 5. Her "notorious immoral character," in the former part of her life, and her own confession, “that she once, THROUGH IMPOSITION, passed for a religious person, merely for the sake of worldly gain."*-These are strong objections to the reception of her testimony, whatever degree of "calmness and serenity" may mark "her present state of mind;" however "clear and unimpeachable her doctrinal knowledge" may now prove, and however "pleasing it must be to every lover of religion to converse with her." If she once played the hypocrite "for the sake of worldly interest," the presumption is, that she would not scruple to act that, or any other part again, from the same motive. 6. The obvious interest which she and her attendants have in supporting the deception.-From the published accounts of her case it appears, that before she began to attract the attention of the public, she had been "labouring under the greatest distresses," and had not even sufficient clothes to cover her bed:† But, when we saw her, she seemed to be in very comfortable * Account of the Extraordinary Abstinence of Ann Moore. By J— L—. 8vo. Utoxeter, 1809, page 8. † Account, &c. p. 16. VOL. IV. D No. 13. |