When the object manifefts extraordinary benevolence; when im measurable extent of wifdom and goodness direct power to execute their purpofe; and incalculable advantages are the iffue of their united operations, admiration fwells into delectable aftonishment, and our confcious incapacity to fathom is an augmentation of enjoyment. power of what the medical world has termed the non-naturals, which exert as great an influence over the difpofitions of the mind, as they are productive of falutary or morbid pre-difpofitions refpecting the body. All thofe circumftances, for exam ple, which are calculated to ins vigorate the frame, and rouse it from a ftate of indolence and inactivity, neceflarily communicate a correfpondent vigour to the mind, Nature of Pre-difpofing Causes, from by which it becomes more adapted A1 the fame. LL the above caufes which operate fo powerfully upon the mind, and imprefs it with fuch a diverfity or contrariety of fenfations, have still a degree of uniformity in their mode of action. We may ftill fuppole that the fame individual placed under their immediate influence, would always entertain fimilar ideas and receive fimilar impreffions. But this is not always the cafe. Certain circumstances create fuch a pre-difpofition within us, that we fhall at different feafons be very differently affected by the fame object, both refpecting the kind of paffion or affection excited, and the degree of power it may exercife over us; and they conftitute that ftate of mind, which we frequently defcribe, by being in the humour, or not in the humour. The circumftances to which we now refer, exert their primary effect upon the corporeal or nervous fyftem, render that more fufceptible of impreffions at one time than another, difpofe it to be very differently affected by the fame objects; and through its channel, to affect the state of our minds concerning them. These obfervations relate to the to receive impreffions of a certain clafs, and to be more powerfully influenced by particular circumftances and qualities in objects than at the preceding period. Such are the manifeft effects of refreshing fleep to fatigued and exhaufted natures, of invigorating viands, of cheerful weather, &c. Whatever produces an uneafy fenfation in the corporeal fyftem is apt to render the mind peevish and fretful, and difpofe it to be much more powerfully affect ed than ufual by incidents of a difagreeable nature; fuch as loffes, difappointments, the improper conduct of others, &c. It has been frequently noticed by practitioners, that patients are much more fretful and impatient in a state of convalefcence than during the more fevere periods of their disease. The returning powers of fenfation make them feel the state of the difordered frame more minutely than during the oppreffive ftate of the difeafe; and their comfortless fenfations communicate an unusual fretfulness to the temper. Again, thofe things which heat and irritate to a confiderable degree, fofter all turbulent and irritable paffions; while thofe which diffufe a pleafing fenfation over the fyftem, difpofe to benevolence and goodwill. It is a maxim with Ff2 fome heads, and proceed to inform you, that, in the courfe of my meditations aforefaid, I recollected a plan put into my hands fome years ago, for commuting all punishments for operations of pharmacy and furgery." The worthy gentleman who propofed this fcheme had principally in his eye the frequency of executions, which he thought difgraceful to a country boafting its humanity; and his idea was, inftead of hanging fo many felons, to make them fubmit to certain experiments and operations in phyfic and furgery. Hereby, faid he to me, with all the enthufiafm of a fchemer, fcience will be promoted as well as crimes punished, by rogues being obliged to fubmit to operations, which, I am forry to fay, we can fcarcely perfuade honeft men to undergo, although their lives are in danger; and I know fo much of thefe operations, that I will venture to fay, that, if my fcheme be adopted, felons will understand what it is to fuffer the pains of law better than ever they did. This plan of my learned friend, however did not fucceed at the time it was propofed, and I know not why; I am, however, hopeful that it may meet with a more gracious reception from the public at prefent, when the invention of fubftitutes is greatly the fashion, and when we have ingenious men who undertake to find fubftitutes for almoft every neceflary of life, from a militia-man to a joint of meat. Now, as it is notorious that the punishment of felons is very expen-, five to government, and as govern mment, like all other well regulated families, must be fenfible of the hardnefs of the times, I flatter my felf I am performing an acceptable fervice by propofing a cheap fubftitute for punifliments. It is almost needless to say, that the fcience of furgery is very much obftructed by the want of opportunities for operations and experiments before the student arrives at actual practice upon his patients.It is a very awkward thing, and would be very fhocking if it were known, that a furgeon fliould be able to fay to a patient, "fir, I am come to cut off your leg; but as this is the first time I ever performed the operation, you must excufe me, if I don't go through it as I could wish." This, Mr. Editor, would furely be very fhocking and very unfafe; whereas, it is obvious, that by the fcheme I propose, at least twenty ftudents may go through the whole feries of operations in the course of one Old Bailey feffions, greatly to their improvement, and to the furtherance of the law, Another advantage would be, that, as the operations of furgery are very numerous, they might afford that variety of punishment which feems very much wanted in order to proportion punishments to crimes; and the antipathy of the lower claffes to furgical operations is fo ftrong, that I truft I need not expatiate on this as a powerful argument in favour of the fcheme. The fight of a cafe of inftruments would create more terror than the fight of a cat-o-nine-tails, which I am told there are various ways to evade.— For flight offences, or firft offences, it may perhaps be neceflary to order the felon to be put under the hands of an apothecary's boy for a week or fortnight. Crimes of the next degree of atrocity might be punished by a gentle diflocation as we rife higher in offence, we afcend through the various degrees of fractures fimple and compound up to the trepan, or lithotomy.. Methinks I hear the recorder paffing fentence at the conclufion of an Old Bailey feffions in this manner: "You John Glim, have been guilty of houfe-breaking; it only. remains for me that I pronounce the fentence of the law, which is, that you be taken from hence to furgeons hall, in Lincoln's-Inn Fields, in the city of Westminster, and county of Middlesex, and there be cut for a fiftula." "You, Thomas Vagrant, have been found guilty of ftealing privately. The fentence of the law is that your right hand should be cut off; but the court, in confideration of your having a numerous family, whom you maintain by your profeffion as a ballad-finger, hath been pleased to remit that part of your fentence, and orders that you be qualified for the opera house. This, fir, would alter the face of things in Newgate; inftead of rioting, drinking, and fwearing, which are too much to be heard in all our jails, we fhould hear nothing but groans, and fcreams, and the direful operation of bolufes and juleps. The Newgate Calendar then would be a lift of cafes of furgery; and the keeper, if he found a prifoner refractory, might easily procure fuch advice from the firft furgeon in the neighbourhood, as would effectually prevent his running away. Upon highwaymen, footpads, and all fuch blood-thirfty fellows, I would have the various kinds of ftyphics tried; experiments might allo be made with gun-fhot wounds, a fpecies of retaliation which would admirably ferve the purposes of science and juftice. As to crimes committed in a state of intoxication; for the leffer fpecies, a courfe of quack medicines might probably be fevere enough; but for the more atrocious, it would be abfolutely neceffary to punish by tapping. Not that I mean that the fentence of the judge fhould be definitive. Alleviating circumstances ought still to appeal to the fountain of mercy, and in cafes where the jury ftrongly recommended to mercy, his majefty would no doubt remit the trocar or the biftoury, as might feem fit. Very heinous offences committed by females, might be punished by operations incident to the sex, such as experiments on the nervous fyftem,on the tongue,&c. or perhaps the cefarian operation might be ordered in lieu of hanging; and if we may belive fome profeffional men who have lately tried that operation it would not amount to much more than a respite for a week! As to petty offences, bleedingand tooth-drawing would in general be fufficient, and perhaps as good for the morals as beating hemp and blafpheming; or the apothecaries might be permitted to try the effect of fome new-invented medicine. I fancy I fall fome day or other read in the newspaper a paragraph like the following. "Yesterday three men and a woman were brought before the lord mayor, for getting drunk and making a riot in a public-houfe at unfeafonable hours; but, on their making a handfome apology for their conduct, and promifing to behave better in future, his lordfhip was pleafed to order that each fhould take a box of Do&tor F14 Humbug's fome in modern days never to ask a favour of an epicure, till after his meals; and the ancients were not unacquainted with the molia tempora fandi. Whatever chills and debilitates, difpofes to timidity; and local fituations which are retired and and gloomy, are moft conducive to melancholy impreffions. Indeed fo dependant is the ftate of the mind upon that of the body, that nothing can produce a confiderable change in the latter, without exciting pre-difpofitions fomewhat analogous in the former. The food which recruits the exhausted powers of animal nature, exhilarates and invigorates the mind; the excess which burdens the body, benumbs the powers of the foul. The painful and comfortless fenfations produced by flatulencies and indigeftions in hypochondriac temperaments, have fometimes produced, and fometimes been mif-taken for an anxious ftate of mind; and the medicines which relieve the one, will adminifter comfort to the other. The fenfations of hunger, cold, fatigue, &c. being difagreeable in themfelves, induce an uneafy reftlefs ftate of mind, and petulance of temper. The ftate of the atmosphere, peculiarities of climate, feafons of the year, have their mental influence; difpofe to cheerful vivacity or gloominefs of difpofition, induce a languor or ih vigorate the mental powers. The influence of narcotics upon the mind is univerfally noticed. The exhilarating effect of opiates, the extravagant wildnefs, the pleafing delirium with which they affect the brain, the Elysian pleafures they fometimes communicate to the imagination, and the confequent torpor and debility diffufed over the whole a fyftem, have been frequently remarked. Under their ftimulating influence, man has fewn himself equal to undertakings which it was apparent madnefs to attempt; and the fubfe quent depreffion has marked him for a coward. The effects of fpirituous and fermented liqours are no lefs obvious, as every one has too fre quent an occafion to remark. These effects are obferved to vary according to the quality of the liquor, the previous ftate of the fubjects mind, or the temperament of his body. Some kinds of potations have a tendency to induce a kind of pleafing ftupefaction; fo that if they do not infpire new ideas, they feem to render the fot perfectly contented with the few he poffeffes. These are the frequent effects of malt liquors, and the ingredients mixed with them. While other liquors, as the fparkling champaigre, exhilirate the fpirits to an unusual degree, and promote a flow oflively and witty ideas. Tempers naturally warm and impetuous are generally very litigious and quarrelfome in their cups. Others are rendered quarrelfome in a flate of intoxication, contrary to their usual difpofitions, through the difagreeable irritation diffufed over the fyftem by the unufual ftimulus. Some per fons, on the other hand, who are furrounded with distracting cares, or oppreffed with extreme poverty, having for the inftant drowned thought and reflection in the bewitching draught, which operates like the waters of Lethe, they ohtain a temporary release from their mental fufferings, and enjoy an extraordinary and frantic flow of fpirits in the oblivion of their mifery. Inftances fimilar to the above are infinitely numerous; but these are fufficient to illustrate the fact, that !༞,』”, many many circumstances by primarily laws are good for nothing, becaufe affecting the body produce a corref- crimes are as frequent after they pondent change upon the mind; have been enacted as before. trengthen many of its affections, Others have inquired, and I conand pre-difpofe to paffions and emo- fefs with fome propriety, into the tions, by which it would not other right of any community to inflict the wife have been affected. It may punishment of death upon its membe remarked in general that the ber; and, if I am not mistaken, this fenfibility of the fyftem, or fufcep- punishment is in America reftricted tibility of impreffion, when greatly to murders of the worst clafs only. increafed by intoxication or any Meditating upon thefe fubjects other caufe, will render the fame few nights ago, it occurred to me individual amorous, or generous, or that the courageous, or paffionate and quar- hapsault of our laws might per relfome, according as occafions and incidents favourable to one or other of thefe affections and emotions may prefent themselves. Thus have we enumerated the principal caufes, which have a powerful influence over the affections; which occafion that great diverfity obfervable in the human fpecies, endowed with fimilar capa cities, and apparently placed in fimilar fituations. Caufes, by the influence of which one clafs of tional beings differs fo effentially from another equally rational; individuals from individuals in each clafs, and individuals fo frequently from themfelves. ra Medical and Surgical Punishments, in a Letter to the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. Sir, THE multiplication of penal fta in the punishments we inflict not being properly propor tioned to the crimes; or, in other words, that rogues have been far more fertile in devifing new crimes, than honeft men, or legiflators (who ipfo facto are honeft men), have been ingenious in varying their means of punishment. To enumerate all the crimes for which the law ordains punishment, would require a much larger proportion of your magazine than you might be difpofed to allow to Tuch a purpofe; but all the punishments in ufe may, I believe, be exprelled in thefe few words, death, banishment, imprisonment; whipping, pillory, and fines. There are fix punifhments to at least six hundred fpecies of crimes; and, by the bye, to fave myielf the trouble, I beg leave to refer the curious reader to Mr. Colquhoun's two volumes on the London and Marine Police, where he will find the genera and Species of rogues claffified in a truly Linnæan fyftem, and often with Linnæan names. Perhaps, therefore, I fay, the failure of our penal laws may pro ceed from the want of connection tutes has given rife to many ferious difquifitions on the wif dom of laws, their failure, and the difficulty of carrying them into execution; and fome gentlemen of pro-between the crime and the punishfound habits of thinking have funk ment. But it is not my intention at fo deep in this fubject, as to affert, prefent to attempt to establish this almost in plain terms, that penal connection: I leave that to wifet Ffs heads, |