gave the signal for the operation to be commenced. Mr. Dunn took the scalpel, and every eye was directed with anxious scrutiny to the patient; and in one minute the finger was removed-the cutting the flaps and the dividing the bone by the nippers, was watched with breathless suspense-but there was not a muscle's quiver, nor did a sigh escape, or a finger move; nor did a respiratory movement nor anything occur to betray the slightest sensibility to the work going on. When Dr. Owens exultingly cried out, 'It is off, and it was unfelt,' the intense suspense which all experienced broke forth into delighted applause. The hand was then dressed in the usual manner, being held from the patient by a cataleptic power, which without any other aid kept the arm extended during the operation; and two minutes having elapsed, Dr. Mannix found the pulse still 100.

"Dr. Owens now excited laughter, and the patient laughed happily, evidently quite unconscious of the painful operation he had just undergone. He was permitted to sleep another half hour, and during the time being questioned as to his feelings and what he had felt,-he declared himself perfectly comfortable; and being asked if his finger should be removed, he extended his hand to have it done, although it had then been off some time. So another time Dr. Owens only touched the organ of Firmness, and it really seemed to act magically -for his eyes opened, and looking to his arm tied up in a sling, he ejaculated "The Lord be thanked for that; it is off.' Each person anxiously questioned him, and his answers fully assured them that he had never felt anything during the operation. Thus satisfactorily ended this interesting case, a triumph of nature's own in the benevolent work of alleviating the pains and sorrows of poor human nature. The minutes which had been kept during the operation by Mr. Gates, surgeon, are signed by every gentleman present, who are ready at any time to attest the authority of any particular of this case, viz.:

MEDICAL MEN.

NON-MEDICAL.

W. Mannix, M.D. (a Magistrate) Mr. W. F. Fryer (a Magistrate),

Mr. Edwards,

Mr. Dunn,

Mr. Haddwell,

Mr. De Londe.

Mr. Mellar,

Mr. Neeve,

Mr. Dudley of Bloxwich,

Mr. Fellowes,

Mr. John Underhill,

Mr. Myatt,

Mr. Daniel,

Mr. Wood, Editor of the Chronicle.

"A vote of thanks was then passed unanimously to Dr. Owens, and he was most warmly congratulated on all sides. The future history of the patient is highly satisfactory as he has gone on remarkably well, and he feels what will ere long be felt universally, that mesmerism will rank among the highest and noblest powers in the service of man."

The following is from the Quebec Mercury, February 15, 1844:

XXVII. "Amputation of a Leg.

"The Bangor Courier gives an account of a surgical operation in that city, the patient having been previously thrown into the magnetic sleep. The operation was the painful one of amputating a leg, upon Luther Carey, whose leg from infancy had been deformed, and caused him much pain and inconvenience. The Courier says 'During the operation, the patient complained of a sensation in the bottom of his foot, as though some one was pricking it; and at one time, for a brief period, appeared to be rousing from the magnetic state, and half conscious, by suspicion at least, that the operation had commenced, and at this time there was quite a struggle and much muscular action, but he was soon thrown more fully into the magnetic state, and was then quite unconscious of what was going on: entering into conversation respecting the operation, and proposing that it be postponed to the next week, &c., and insisting, even after the leg was amputated, that he would not have it done until it was fully paralyzed, at the same time expressing some doubt whether the doctor would be able to accomplish this.

"After the operation had been performed and the limb. dressed, Mr. Carey was placed in his bed, being still in the magnetic state, and was induced to sing. His aged widowed mother was called, and entered the room just as he was singing with much zeal, which greatly affected the aged woman, and she burst into tears. Mr. Carey was now taken out of the magnetic sleep, and on rousing up appeared quite startled on seeing the company present; and speaking to his sister and his mother, a shade of sadness passed over his countenance, as he told them he had postponed having the operation performed until the doctor should be more successful in paralyzing his leg.

"A passing smile over all the countenances led him to suspect that there might be something in the wind, and it then occurred to him that he was in bed, and in attempting to rise he was cautioned not to do it, upon which he re

marked that perhaps his leg was off, and he was placed in bed. Upon being assured of the fact, he in great glee cried out, Good; I am glad the old leg is off!' He then stated that the only sensation he had experienced was like that of some one pricking the bottom of his feet.'"*

I believe I can record another case of painless operation through mesmerism; but mesmerists shall judge.

Mr. Parker, of No. 4, Mercer-street, Long Acre, whose excellent letter was printed at p. 273, vol. 1, and whom I have had the pleasure of knowing through visiting his daughter, eleven years old, that had just become a spontaneous somnambulist, as her mother was at the same age, exhibiting many striking phenomena when mesmerism was tried upon her, has given me the following history. The poor maid of all work of his landlord severely sprained her arm, and was an out-patient at a hospital for six weeks, without benefit, and told she would not be better till she lay up. Mr. Parker, seeing her suffering, proposed to his elder daughter to mesmerise her. She could not move her arm or do her work, and was mesmerised on Friday night. The next morning she did all her Saturday's work, cleaning a large number of tins, saucepans, &c., &c. and at night was again unable to move it. She was again mesmerised before she went to bed, and was able on Sunday to do her work and look out all the linen for the wash; but at night again could not move it. She was mesmerised before she went to bed, and was able to wash all Monday, from 5 in the morning till 10 at night, when she was again unable to move her arm. Mesmerism however restored it completely after a few more repetitions every night. The arm only was always mesmerised, but she went to sleep, and the very first night slept three quarters of an hour, and on waking fancied she should in consequence not sleep when she went to bed; but she slept all night and beyond her usual time. The mesmerism always gave pain at the time, which subsided as she fell asleep. She now began to suffer severely in her jaw. When a child, she had been tossed by a bull, and her jaw-hone so injured that it had become diseased, and a piece of bone been discharged many years ago. On account of the state of her jaw, she went back to the hospital, where she was told that a tooth must be drawn and a piece of bone taken away. She was placed in a chair: a young surgeon on each side held her hands, and another held her head, placing one of his hands at the back and top of her head and the other at the right side. She recollects nothing more than that an instrument was put into her mouth. When she awoke-for she went to sleep-she found the operation was all over, and the surgeon standing at her side holding her hand and arm; and he remarked to her "that she had had a good long sleep" and, when she called some time afterwards at the hospital, that "she had had a wonderful cure."

Mr. Parker, to ascertain whether she might not have been in a mesmeric sleep when operated upon, suggested to his daughter to take some opportunity of holding her head with her hands, as had been done at the hospital. An opportunity was found when the two were alone, without the reason being communicated to her. In a few minutes she was fast asleep, and slept five and thirty minutes, though she had not previously been mesmerised for a considerable period.

In conversation with Mr. Parker, she lately said that, though she felt nothing, she thinks she recollects hearing the tooth come out: a remark that instantly reminded Mr. Parker of the expression of the man whose leg was amputated at Wellow,-that he thought he heard a kind of crunching. The doctors and surgeons in the Medical Society, who thought this was outrageous nonsense may reflect upon the girl's statement, and suspect that they are not so well acquainted with their science as they imagine.

Labour in the Mesmeric State.

Mr. Lynell of Manchester has favoured me with the following narration :

"In January last, I was requested to mesmerise M. K., a young Irishwoman, 22 years of age, with a view to her being delivered of her first child in the mesmeric sleep; her susceptibility to the mesmeric influence having been ascertained by various experiments. The patient was under the care of Mr. Whitehead, one of the surgeons to the Lying-in Hospital, who attended the case throughout, and who is agreed that my notes of it are correct. I mesmerised the patient on the evenings of Friday, Jan. 19th; Sunday, the 21st; and Friday, the 23rd; and the general effects of the mesmerism were to allay a nervous irritability from which she was suffering, and to procure for her sounder and more refreshing sleep than she had had for some weeks previously. On the first night of mesmerising she said, in the sleep-waking state, that she should not be delivered before Tuesday, the 23rd; beyond that date she said she could not see. On the second night she said she should be taken ill between 10 and 12 on Wednesday night the 22nd, but could not see whether or not she should be delivered at that time; she however believed not. On the third night of mesmerising she again said she should be taken ill on the Wednesday night, and restricted the time to between 10 and 11 o'clock; but again said she believed she should not be in labour. On Thursday morning, at 4 o'clock, I was sent for, and found her in strong pains of labour,-her hands clenched, her teeth grinding together, and her face and head bathed in perspiration. In about two minutes she was put to sleep, and in less than five minutes she was in the sleep-waking state, utterly insensible to pain, and conversing freely and carelessly with any one who was placed in mesmeric relation with her, otherwise she was not conscious of any one speaking to her. This state of perfect insensibility lasted about an hour and a half, during which time the action of labour was going on almost continually, some of the throes being very violent, so much so as, in one case, to rupture one of the membranes. After this time, sensibility began gradually to manifest itself, the patient at first feeling the pains very slightly, afterwards more acutely, but never so acutely as in the waking state. Although the insensibility was less, the sleep-waking state still continued; the patient however begged me to awaken her, but on being asked why she wished to be awoke, and

whether she should suffer less pain when awake than as she then was, she replied that, on the contrary, she should suffer more pain, but that she wished to be awake,-she could not tell why. As Mr. Whitehead was of opinion that the labour might continue for six or eight hours longer, the os uteri being still somewhat rigid, and the head of the child not having descended below the upper aperture of the pelvis, I determined on awaking her, and, if possible, on being with her during the last hour or two of her time. She was awoke

soon after 7, when the sensibility to pain was found to be very much greater than it had ever been in the sleep-waking state. I was unfortunate in not being able to see her again before her delivery, which took place at 2 o'clock. I saw her in the evening at 6, and mesmerised her for twenty minutes, leaving her refreshed and comfortable; and she has since continued very well.

"The insensibility, during an hour and a half, was complete; I believe that any operation might, during that time, have been performed without giving her the least pain. Her prediction as to the time at which she would be taken ill was verified, as she was seized soon after 10 o'clock on the Wednesday night; but she was at fault in supposing her illness would not be labour. She also gave some description of her child, which proved, on its birth, to be incorrect. In her waking state, up to time of her seizure, she had no more definite notion of the time when she would be brought to bed than that she thought it would be somewhere about the end of the month.

"The child was born alive, and, as well as the mother, has gone on very well since. "Feb. 23rd, 1844.

J. P. LYNELL."

Mr. Lynell adds the following case in a postscript to his letter:

"S. P., who had been frequently mesmerised, and who was so susceptible to the mesmeric influence that I on three different occasions put her to sleep from another room, at times when she had no chance of knowing I was in the house, and once demesmerised her from a considerable distance, had the misfortune one night to burn her hand severely. She suffered acute pain, and was unable to sleep during the night. The following morning she went to a surgeon, who dressed the wound, but the pain continued so great during the day that she could not attend to her business. In the evening she came to me, when I mesmerised her, and she passed two