was Mary Hatch. Her medical attendant, Mr. Palmer, told me he did not expect her to leave her bed alive. The pains were instantly removed, and the dropsical symptoms shortly disappeared. Even after this, the medical men who saw her thought it would be impossible for her to get about, or use the slightest exertion, as a very little matter brought on the palpitation of the heart and choking sensation. However, she has steadily though slowly progressed, and now, after rather more than a year and a half since I first saw her, she has been able to work in the hay and harvest field, which she had been unable to do for four years. She is still improving, though occasionally subject to palpitations. These are speedily removed by mesmerism.

Mr. Palmer will communicate his own account.

II. Paralysis.

This was a case I met with in January last. The patient is John Waterworth, of Shetton, near York-about 45 years of age-his habits had been rather intemperate. For six months he had threatenings and symptoms of paralysis, and, about two months or more before I saw him, he had had a fit and remained for some time insensible. It was then found that there was insensibility of the right leg and arm, his face rather distorted, a thickness of speech, &c. When I saw him his symptoms were as follows, -insensibility of the right leg and arm, and occasional loss of power of moving them-constantly recurring slight attacks of paralysis of, or drawing down of the muscles of the face, with inability to move his jaws, and a difficulty of speech; these attacks were slight and of short duration, but occurred five or six times a day; he was extremely nervous, with a slight tremor of the limbs and body; depressed, and complained of head-ache and soreness of the mouth and throat, stiffness of the neck, and rheumatic pains in the back; his pulse weak, irregular, and sometimes intermittent. I do not know what his previous treatment had been. He was then undergoing a severe course of mercury, his teeth were loose, and he was severely salivated. Indeed, I thought many of his symptoms might be from the effects of mercury. He said that he had not found any of his symptoms improve, but felt every day growing worse. Mr. Hill, surgeon of the Pauper Lunatic Asylum, York, was his medical adviser.

His wife told me that Mr. Hill, three days before I saw the patient, had requested her not to let him go out of her sight, as he, Mr. Hill, feared that there was softening of the brain, and her husband might drop down dead at any

moment. I mesmerised him by passes from the head downwards, resting my hands for a minute or two on his head and shoulders. I continued this for an hour. At first I observed an increase of the nervous twitchings and tremors; but this soon subsided, he looked more lively, had no tremors, and said that all pains in the head, back, and limbs were gone, and he had recovered the natural sensation of his limbs.

The following day I found him much improved, he was more composed, had had no return of insensibility or numbness in the limbs, nor any paralytic symptoms; but complained of the pains in his hip and back, and the soreness of his throat and mouth. The pains were again removed. I made him gargle his mouth and throat with mesmerised water, which he said felt very warm in his mouth, and made him feel much more comfortable. The following day he walked to my house, half a mile, and continued to do so until he had quite recovered, and felt strong enough to go to work again, which was in the course of three weeks. He had been at work about three weeks or a month, when, after long exposure to wet one day, he was attacked with shiverings, great pain across the loins, and the following day a swelling of the lower part of the abdomen. I found him feverish and in great pain. By mesmerism, in an hour, he felt perfectly relieved; he had a little pain the following day, but in the course of four or five days the swelling had subsided, and he returned to work. He has now been at work four months, and says he never enjoyed better health.

From the time he commenced mesmerism he took no medicine whatever. This patient never went to sleep during the process of mesmerising. He said he had a sensation as if streams of warm air passed over him as I drew my hands over him, that removed any pains he had at the time, and was most exhilirating and refreshing that after the process was over he always felt extremely drowsy, and slept soundly for several hours immediately on returning home.

Mr. Palmer addresses the following letter to the editor of The Zoist on these two cases,

"York, Sept. 19th, 1848.

"Sir,-Having noticed the beneficial effects of mesmerism on two cases which have lately come before my notice, I would wish, if not occupying too much space in your valuable journal, to place them before your readers. As they are both cases of every-day observation, and attended with the ordinary symptoms, I will not enter into any lengthened his

tory, but merely give briefly the outlines of each, and the

termination.

"The first which I will notice is one of disease of the heart. The patient is a middle-aged woman, mother of several children, and has been labouring under its effects for some years. She was when I first saw her (about March, 1847) suffering from the general symptoms of hypertrophy of the left ventricle, which had latterly very much increased, and rendered her unable to make the slightest exertion without severe oppression and very great difficulty of breathing. She has been several times under medical treatment without any material relief, and for the last nine months has consulted no one. She was treated in the usual way, but still the impulse of the breast and the difficulty of breathing remained without any apparent improvement, as did also the anasarca and the other accompanying symptoms. This condition continued for near a month or six weeks, when she was visited regularly by Mr. Thompson, and mesmerised for several months, all medicines during the time being discontinued. I saw her occasionally, and her health appears recovering, although very slowly; but when I first visited her, she was unable to use the slightest exertion, and now she can perform her usual household duties without much inconvenience, and describes herself to be in better health now than she has been for some years past.

"The other case is one of paralysis. The subject of it being a man about 40 years of age, generally enjoying good health, had been suffering from palsy of the left side for nearly six months. He had undergone a long course of mercury along with counter irritants, &c., with apparently little benefit, and discontinued their use about six weeks, when he was again placed under the effects of mercury and severely salivated, and continued so for some time. But still his symptoms were in no way relieved. At this stage he became the patient of Mr. Thompson, and underwent the usual mesmeric treatment. I had not seen him for several weeks, when I accidentally met with him. He had regained the use of his limbs, and described himself as quite cured of his "sore mouth" in two or three days: and the power and sensibility of his leg and arm gradually returned without any other treatment. It is now nearly six months and he has had no relapse. I ought here to mention also that, about six weeks or two months after he was first mesmerised, he became exposed to cold and wet, and in a day or two after was affected with hydrocele of the left side,

the

that was also relieved without any medicinal remedies, and he now shows not the slightest trace of the affection.

"These few remarks respecting the result of the cases above quoted, although very imperfectly drawn up, may not prove uninteresting to your numerous readers. But as Mr. Thompson has supplied you with the particulars of his treatment regarding them in a former number, I was induced to send you this brief outline in corroboration of his statements. Apologizing for taking up so much of your valuable space,

"I remain,
"Your obedient servant,
"J. PALMER, Surgeon, York.

"To the Editor of The Zoist."

III. Two cases of Rheumatic Neuralgia.

John Waterworth, who had received so much benefit from mesmerism, asked me to see his father, who had been suffering for several years from violent pains, which had so increased lately that it was with difficulty he could crawl about for a few yards. The patient's age was near eighty; he told me that 20 years ago he had a dislocation of the thigh, which was never properly reduced, and that consequently he had been lame ever since; but that about six or seven years ago he began to have rheumatic pains in his loins and the leg which was not injured; that these attacks became more frequent; and that when I saw him the pain was so severe, particularly when he lay down, that he generally passed his nights in a chair; that he was never free from pain; and that he was now so lame that he could not get about at all. I found him extremely sensitive, he went to sleep with a few passes; his head, arms, and legs were attracted by passes in any direction;* he was freed from all pains, and has had no return now for many weeks, and walked up to my house the other day to show himself to some persons who were anxious to witness a case of mesmerism.

The second case was that of a young woman, whose hip joint had become distorted four or five years ago, from a severe rheumatic attack and inflammation in the joints. She has since been subject to repeated attacks of neuralgia in her hip and thigh, for which she could obtain no relief. Mesmerism immediately relieved her of all pain, and she has since been able to walk better, and feels stronger, than she has ever done since her illness.

IV. Rheumatic Fever.

Mr. W. Brow, Tailor, Skelton, about two months ago was relieved of a severe attack of rheumatic fever by mesmerism. All pain was immediately removed, and in four or five days the patient was well.

V. Congestion of the Lungs, Sickness, and Low Fever.

A little girl, three years of age, the daughter of my steward, had an attack of congestion of the lungs. She had been under the medical treatment of Mr. Palmer of York, and had been ill for some time; her pulse was quick and feeble, her breathing was laborious, and she complained of pain in the chest; the medicines prescribed had not relieved her, and the child was fast losing its strength. By mesmerising the chest for about one hour and a half, the breathing was relieved, and the pulse much improved, the child sleeping quietly during the process. In two or three days the child had got rid of these symptoms. I left home about this time for a fortnight, and on my return I found the poor little creature had relapsed into a sort of low fever, with most distressing sickness, which nothing seemed to alleviate, every thing she took, either of food or medicine, being instantly rejected from her stomach. Mr. Allen, of York, had been called in, and recommended her spine to be rubbed with croton oil. I returned home just as they were about to apply it. I requested to be allowed to try mesmerism first; and in less than an hour she was enabled to drink a cup of milk, which was not rejected from her stomach; she had little or no return of sickness, and recovered her strength and health in an almost incredible manner in a few days.

H. S. THOMPSON.

X. Clairvoyance of Alexis Didier. By Dr. ELLIOTSON.

In the 8th and 11th numbers of The Zoist such examples of the clairvoyance of Alexis Didier were given as compelled me, with all my prejudices, to be satisfied of his possessing this faculty at times.

I received the following account from M. Marcillet.

"On May 17, 1847, Alexis and myself went to the apartments of Lord Frederick Fitzclarence, at the hotel Brighton, Rue Rivoli, and the trials of Alexis's clairvoyance were begun in the presence of Lord Normanby, the English ambassador, who, like Lord Frederick, had no belief in mesmerism.

VOL. VI.

GG