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the contained remedy pasted on each. She passes her fingers rapidly over the corks of this multitude of bottles, and selects three or four, when the rest are put aside. She sniffs at the selected few, and at length fixes on one: this is the certain remedy for the disease, if it is remediable, or its emollient, if it is incurable. The half-sovereign is then paid, and the séance breaks up.

During the whole course of the proceedings, Julie remains with her eyes nearly or wholly closed, and speaks in a subdued tone; but exhibits no special indication to the observer of being in any peculiar condition but what might be expected from any person performing the part that is performed by her. She converses freely with the person originally placed en rapport with her, and answers any question he may put in relation to the patient or to herself.

"My personal knowledge of Julie and her proceedings is limited to two visits on two successive days, recently paid to her at her lodgings in street. These visits were paid at the suggestion of a gentleman of rank, for one of whose relatives Julie had prescribed; and who, although a believer in her marvellous doings, was yet anxious that one who had had somewhat more experience with the mesmerists should observe her proceedings and test her powers. I willingly consented to accompany this gentleman to the cell of the Wise-Woman, not, of course, to settle any doubts I myself entertained of the true character of the whole affair-for of this I had no doubts-but in hopes that something might occur that would disabuse one honorable mind, at least, if it did even help to break the degrading and despicable spell which had snared and bound the judgment of hundreds of his own high class, reducing them, in this respect, to the level of the lowest. I was aware of the risk I was running of helping to confirm, instead of exposing, their absurd infatuation which would be the consequence of Julie's guesses happening to be right in the particular cases I was to submit to her. On the other hand, I thought that a few very simple precautions in the selection of the cases, and in the mode of presenting them, would turn the chances on my side. I need hardly say that I knew the pretended knowledge to be an impossibility; but I knew, at the same time, that the symptoms of diseases are so various and vague, and many of such uniform occurrence in disease, that it would not be very difficult, by an enumeration of more or fewer of these common or universal symptoms, to give a colour of accuracy where nothing of the kind existed. And in the cases which had been already reported to me as successful instances of Julie's powers, I perceived that this was the usual course of her proceeding. I selected my cases accordingly-cases strongly marked, thoroughly definite, and with such bold and characteristic features that the failure to state these must be admitted as a total failure, however much mention might be made of many other symptoms of an inferior or immaterial kind. And in order to satisfy my friends that no special pleading would be possible either on my part or theirs, I placed a memorandum of the nature of each case in a sealed envelope, to be opened at the close of the sitting, and compared with the written revelations of the fair seer. In doing this, I confess that I felt my position somewhat humiliating, as if I were still open to the suspicion of entertaining some doubts as to the real state of things. However, for the reasons given above I went on.

"I had prepared three cases of disease; but I only consulted the fair Julie for two-one on each day. I regret that I cannot give here the full and exact particulars of each case, as they are now lying before me in my own memoranda, and those taken down from the dictation of Julie; but these are

⚫ These are appended to the present reprint.

only suited to the pages of a medical journal. The following general outline, however, will suffice for my present purpose:

"Case First-was that of a girl of twelve years of age, who has a most horrible and disfiguring disease of the mouth, but is in the most perfect health in other respects. So said my sealed memoranda. Julie's diagnosis, now before me, is-that there is disease of the heart and lungs, and stomach and kidneys, with general debility, fever, &c. &c., but not one word respecting the actual disease! Upon being questioned as to the sex of the patient, she said the individual was a woman (une femme,' not fille).

"Case Second-was that of a man, with an incurable disease of a peculiar kind, having its seat in the left lung, and who laboured under no other disease, except debility and general derangement of functions necessarily dependent on so severe a malady. Mademoiselle Julie's memorandum says not one word of any disease of the lungs or other organs of the chest, but places all the mischief at the other extremity of the body, and allocates the main disease in an organ not possessed by that half of the species to which the individual belongs! The hair was declared to be a woman's, and the disease one peculiar to the sex!

This, I think, is what in vulgar language is called a clincher," and with it I take my leave of the subject of Mademoiselle Julie. If, after receiving this taste of the quality of their oracle, her fashionable patrons and patronesses still continue to frequent her shrine, accept her inspirations, and obey her behests, it is to be at least hoped that the police magistrate will henceforth visit with pity and forgiveness, and not with reproach and punishment, the vulgar witches of the suburban alleys, or their poverty-stricken and unlettered victims.

After what is above truly reported of the sayings and doings of Mademoiselle Julie, the reader is left to form his own judgment as to her precise bodily and mental condition while making her revelations. I will only say, that not an iota of evidence exists in favour of the alleged fact of her being in that peculiar state termed by adepts, mesmeric or magnetic sleep, or somnambulism. To mine and to all common eyes, she seemed simply to be a very zealous but bungling fortune-teller, as wide awake as her nature permitted, but with her eyes shut. I think the very mesmerists will hardly contend for the opposite view of the case; although the extent of her blunders ought by no means to deprive her of their good word and patronage.

Two more observations I will make before concluding, which, considered in all their bearings, tend, I think, to account for a good deal of Julie's success with the class of persons who consult her.

None but those who have given a good deal of attention to the subject, and seen much of proceedings of the sort now under notice, can believe the utter incapacity of the majority even of educated persons to appreciate evidence as to matters of fact. And when the parties engaged in the observation of the phenomena are unreasoning partisans of the doctrine involved in them (as they generally are), it is literally true that trifles light as air are to such persons confirmation strong as proofs of Holy Writ. Although it is almost profanation to quote Bacon on an occasion like this, still, as his great words tell strongly on the matter in hand, I venture to give them in corroboration of the remark just made :-"The light of the understanding," he says, "is not a dry or pure light, but drenched in the will and affections, and the intellect forms its knowledge accordingly; for what men desire should be true, they are most inclined to believe....... When the mind is once pleased with

certain things, it draws all others to consent and go along with them; and though the power and number of instances that make for the contrary are greater, yet it either attends not to them or despises them, or else removes and rejects them by a distinction, with a strong and pernicious prejudice to maintain the authority of its first choice unviolated." (Nov. Org.)

The other observation is this:-Had I given Julie, on my first visit, the lock of hair which I gave her on my second, her description of the disease (though really false) would assuredly have been regarded by her votaries as an additional proof of her omniscience: inasmuch as on that occasion she really did hit on the organ which was affected in the other case! On such slight chances do the fame and fortunes of the great oracles of the world depend. The difference of sex would have been regarded as of no importance, being readily" rejected and removed by a distinction."

NOTES OF THE CASES.

CASE I.-Dr. Forbes's Memorandum.

C. H., a girl æt. 12, who, from previous fever and affection of the mouth from mercury (some years since I think), suffered sloughing of the lips and cheeks, caries of the jaw-bone, loss of teeth, &c., leaving behind the present affection-viz., inability to open the mouth wide, total inability to close the mouth at the angles of the lips, consequent continuous flow of saliva from the mouth, imperfect utterance, &c. The little girl is in the hospital (St. George's) awaiting an operation for the cure of this defect. She is in perfect good health otherwise.

CASE I.-Mademoiselle Julie's Statement.

C H. 21 Fevrier, 1846. Pulsations très vives au cœur. Les valvules du cœur sont pleines; c'est ce qui est la cause des pulsations. Il y a un douleur au côté gauche du poumon. L'épine dorsale est faible, douloureuse et fatiguée, principalment vers les reins. Les membranes de l'estomac sont très rouges: il y a comme un poids sur l'estomac : il y a aussi de l'irritation à l'estomac. Un peu de fièvre, causée par la faiblesse. Je sens le corps bien faible. Il y a des taches rouges au poumon gauche. Le dessous de la clavicule est douloureux. Je sens que le siège principale de la maladie est aux poumons et au cœur. Il n'y a aucune lésion au poumon. Je sens au milieu du dos autre chose que ce que j'ai dit ; je ne puis pas bien le définir. Le sang au cœur n'est pas bon. Tous les organes de la poitrine sont malades, mais non pas d'une manière dangereuse. Le mauvais état du sang me fait voir la maladie comme étant grave. Plus je touche les cheveux, plus il me semble reconnaitre ceux d'une personne que j'ai déjà touchée. Je sens que les cheveux sont ceux d'une femme. La maladie est grave; mais non pas incurable.

CASE II.-Dr. Forbes's Memorandum.

W. G., a man aged 52. Disease of rather more than three years and a half standing. During all this time he has had a severe cough, and pain on the left side of the breast, between the nipple and collar bone, and towards the middle of the breast. Has had repeated hemoptysis (six times), generally slight, but sometimes severe. Never any fever. Is now greatly emaciated.

Has also lately a pain in the throat about the larynx. His disease is rather peculiar, and is supposed to be encephaloid tumour of the lung (the left), which must prove fatal in no long time.

CASE II.-Mademoiselle Julie's Statement.

W. G. 22 Fevrier, 1846. Irritation aux intestins; pésanteur dans le bas ventre. Je vois des taches rouges à l'intérieur du bas ventre. Cette partie beaucoup d'inflammation: la vessie est très enflammée, et la peau de la partie supérieure est très épaissée. L'eau qui se forme aux reins est tres épaisse. Le foie est gonflé, et cause une sensation pénible. Il y a faiblesse dans les jambes; la personne ne peut pas marcher. Je sens des douleurs derrière la tête. La circulation du sang est mauvaise dans les intestins et dans les jambes; le sang est faible et pauvre dans tout le corps. La maladie principale est dans le bas ventre. Je sens que c'est une femme. Le sang est si décomposé que la guérison me serait peu probable. Il y a cancer à la matrice.

PART FOURTH.

Original Reports and Memoirs.

REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF HUMAN ANATOMY AND
PHYSIOLOGY IN THE YEARS 1844-5.

BY JAMES PAGET,

Lecturer on General and Morbid Anatomy and Physiology, and Warden of the Collegiate
Establishment, at St. Bartholomew's Hospital.

THE following Report concerns the history of physiology during a longer period than either of the two former Reports, and contains notices of the works published between the 1st of October 1844, and the 31st of December 1845. Its general plan is similar to that of those already published, except in that, for brevity's sake and for convenience of reference, there are appended to each chief section the titles of such essays relating to the subject therein treated of as, for various reasons, could not or needed not to receive any further notice. For this, as for all the former Reports, the original essays have been read in nearly every instance; and whenever reference is made in the foot-notes to more than one publication as containing the facts to which any part of the Report relates, the first of the books so referred to is that from which the account given in the text was derived.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE BODY.

Elementary constituents. Another fact in evidence that copper may occasionally exist, independent of poisoning, in the body, is furnished by Bertozzi,* who has detected it in fourteen biliary calculi of various kinds. The more yellow biliary colouring matter they contained the more abundant was the copper: white biliary calculi contained no trace of it. In bile he never could detect it. But, though these may be facts, yet the question, whether either copper or lead ever exists in the healthy body, must still be held open: in the last year MM. Devergie, Barse,† and others have again asserted that they do thus exist, and MM. Flandin and Dangert have as positively again denied it.

Proteine compounds :-Albumen, &c. M. Wurtz§ has rendered a further account of his mode of preparing albumen, in a state of purity, yet soluble without the addition of alkali or any other of the substances hitherto supposed necessary to its solution.

Dr. Ludwig|| has extracted from the materials hitherto vaguely named Extractive matters of the blood a principle which is isomeric with the binoxyde

Oesterr. Med. Wochenschr. Sept. 6, 1845.

Comptes Rendus, 30 Sept. 1844.

Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, Oct. 1845. XLII.-XXI.

+ Comptes Rendus, 28 Oct. 1844.

Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Nov. 1844.

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