"I have fo entirely gained this habit of thought; that, I hope, this principle will direct me in all my inquiries. And though I am but a mean workman in the Temple of truth, I will at least be an honeft one. My own errors I will always be glad not only to acknowlege, but proclaim: and upon a like principle, though I may not ftudiously proclaim the errors of a friend, yet I certainly will neither palliate nor hide them. "In short, it is making an ungenerous ufe of any degree of fuperiority which men may be poffeffed of, if they become the minifters to each other's vanity, inftead of being the impartial minifters of truth. When once they are arrived at this point, I think the mind must be fhaken from the foundations of all true integrity. For myfelf, I fhould think I deferved to be ftruck blind from heaven, not only in body but in foul too, fhould I make fo ungrateful an ufe of that portion of light which God has lent me. "As I think there is great immorality and guilt in any palliation of error on account of friendship; fo, on the other part, I can fee no fhadow of reafon against a free difcuffion of any question, among fons, fathers, friends, or brothers. If I am wrong, my friends are beft able to fet me right: If my. friend is wrong, the trueft friendship I can fhew him is, to let him fee his error. I am, &c. -J. B." The Doctor goes on to produce other letters and scraps of letters in order to fhew the independence of his mind, and concludes with declaring, in the triumphant language of felf-importance, that he fhould long ago have fet his foot upon the neck of flander, had fhe not fkulked among the garrets of GrubStreet. R. Philofophical Transactions, Vol. LIV. Continued *. Papers, MEDICAL and ANATOMICAL. Art. 2. The Sequel of the Cafe of Mr. Butler of Mofcow, printed in the Philofophical Tranfactions, Vol. L. p. 19. Communicated by Mr. Henry Baker, F. R. S. THE HE cafe of Mr. Butler was briefly this: Soon after preparing a mixture of verdegris, falie gold-leaf, with aquafortis, he was fuddenly feized with a burning pain, first in one finger, then in his whole hand; afterwards in the other hand," legs, toes, fhoulders, back, belly, and, in fhort, in every part of his body by turns, together with many extraordinary symptoms, See Review for laft Month. which, which, however, in about ten days, abated, and in a fhort time feemed entirely gone; but for the particulars of this cafe, together with the method of treatment, we are referred to the first part of the account, as mentioned in the title of this article. The fequel of this account is communicated in a second letter from Dr. Mounfey to Mr. Baker; from which it appears that Mr. Butler's nerves continued for a long time in a very irritable condition, and that not only by the fmell of paints, but even on handling metallic inodorous fubftances he was frequently attacked with faintings, tremblings, and uncommon anxiety. The Doctor tried various remedies with very little effect, till at length a milk diet and exercife reftored the patient to a tolerable state of health. We cannot close this article without tranfcribing one fhort paffage. On the 20th, fays the Doctor, I gave him a dofe of Epfom falt, which he had been used to take it purged very well; but immediately on its leaving off to work, his body ftruck out with great numbers of small red fpots. The fal catharticum amarum came from England; and whether fome vitriolic acid had been used in making it, I do not know; but it is likely there had.' It is indeed more than likely : fal catharticus amarus, or Epsom falt, being always composed of the vitriolic acid and magnefia. We are forry the Doctor's want of chemical knowledge fhould ftand thus upon record in the Philofophical Tranfactions. Art. 9. An Account of a Hernia of the Urinary Bladder including a Stone. By Mr. Percival Pott, Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hofpital, and F. R. S. The patient of whom this extraordinary cafe is related, was about thirteen years old when he was brought to Mr. Pott, and his disease had the appearance of a schirrous tefticle, which, however, from the hardness and infenfibility of the tumour, appeared not to be the cafe. Mr. Pott, though in doubt what it really was, being of opinion that it ought to be extirpated, performed the operation with his ufual care, dexterity, and fuccefs; and on laying open the fcrotum, discovered the cafe to be a bernia ciftica, including a calculus of the fame nature with those ufually found in the bladder. He extirpated the cift, and at the end of a month the patient was perfectly cured. Art. 32. Obfervations and Experiments of different Extracts of Hemlock. By Michael Morris, M. D. F. R.S. Dr. Wade of Lisbon having lately communicated to the London Medical Society a number of cafes, in which the extract of hemlock, prepared at Coimbra in Portugal, had been given with great fuccefs, Dr. Morris was induced to make experiments upon the different extracts prepared at Coimbra, Viana and London, in order to difcover their refpective component parts. The The refult of this enquiry is, that the Coimbra extract contains a much greater quantity (to use the Author's own words) of an effential oily falt and refin, than the others; and hence, he is of opinion, the extraordinary effects of the Coimara extract may be rationally accounted for.. Art. 33. Efay on the Ufe of the Ganglions of the Nerves. By James Johnftone, M. D. communicated by the Right Rev. Charles Lord Bishop of Carlifle. It is well known that phyfiology has not yet been able to produce even a probable conjecture concerning the use of the ganglions of the nerves. The ingenious Author of this paper refecting, that ganglions are almost peculiar to those nerves which are diftributed to parts whofe motions are involuntary, imagines, that their use in the animal oeconomy is to intercept the influence of the mind upon those parts; and that they are alfo the inftruments by which the motions of the heart and intestines are rendered uniformly involuntary. The only objection to this theory is, that the obfervation on which it is founded is not univerfally true. Art. 43. An Account of what appeared on opening the Body of an Afthmatic Perfon. By W. Watfon, M. D. F. R. S. The preternatural phenomena in the body of this afthmatic perfon were, an enormous diftention of the lungs with extravafated air, and numberless varices in the pulmonary vein; which together fufficiently account for the fymptoms of the disease. From the hiftory of the cafe it appears, that the patient, about two months before his death, was feized with violent and long continued vomiting, to which the Doctor, very rationally, afcribes the phenomena above mentioned. Art. 58. An Account of an extraordinary Difeafe among the Indians in the Ifland of Nantucket and Marthu's Vineyard, in New England. In a Letter from Andrew Oliver Efq; Secretary of his Majefty's Province of Massachusett's Bay, to Ifrael Mauduit, Efq; F.RS. Our readers will hardly believe us when we affure them that all we learn from this pompous account of this extraordinary difease, is, that it attacked none but Indians; that it was a violent inflammatory fever; that, out of 258, only 36 recovered; and that the patients generally died in about five days. As this article contains not the leaft medical inftruction, we apprehend it might with more propriety have filled the column of a newspaper. B-t. The MATHEMATICAL, MECHANICAL, and ASTRONO MICAL Papers, are deferred to another Opportunity. MONTHLY MONTHLY CATALOGU E, TH By Jer. HIS valuable performance, being only a new edition, without any alterations, does not properly come under our cognizance; yet, as it is a work of fome importance, and hath long been scarce, we thought it might be useful to many of our Readers, at this juncture, in which the charters of our colonies are become so much the objects of public attention, to be informed, that Mr. Dummer's tract is reprinted, and may be had as above. Art. 14. The Importance of the Colonies of North-America, and the Intereft of Great Britain with Regard to them, confidered. Together with Remarks on the Stamp-duty. 4to. 1 S. Peat. Chiefly intended to fhew how impolitic, as well as unreasonable, it would be, in our prefent difpute with the colonies, to have recourse to any improper exertion of power. The Author's main argument is founded on this pofition, That it is the true intereft of Great Britain, to acquire and retain, not to alienate the affections of her colonies ;-which can only be done by kind ufage, and always confidering them, as they moft certainly are, in all refpects. on the fame footing with ourselves, and of right entitled to every privilege that we in England enjoy. -He infifts, in common with most of the writers in behalf of the colonies, on their right of reprefentation in whatever legiflative body affumes and exercises the power of taxing them; but on this head, as well as on most other points touched upon in this tract, he offers little that can be called new: his performance being, indeed, to be chiefly regarded as a recapitulation of the arguments advanced by those who have appeared before him in this debate. Art. 15. An Examination of the Rights of the Colonies, upon Principles of Law. By a Gentleman at the Bar. 8vo. I S. Dymot. This Lawyer, after a very flight hearing, has determined against the colonies; but we imagine they will hardly abide by his adjudication. Without entering into the merits of this caufe, upon the principles of law, we cannot help reflecting, on this occafion, how happy it is for this country that her liberties have not always been left to the arguments and decifions of lawyers. Would their jargon ever have procured us our ineftimable Magna Charta? or would the glorious Revolution ever have taken place, if our gallant grandfathers had fubmitted to argue the point with K. James in Westminster-ball? It is true, we have lately feen our liberties nobly afferted by an English Lord Chief Juice; but have we not too much reafon to regard that honeft lawyer as a phænomenon? And how many ferieses, &c. have we had, for one PRATT! Art. 16. Art. 16. Confiderations on the American Stamp-act, and on the Conduct of the Minifter who planned it. 8vo. IS. Nicoll. The right of Great Britain to tax her colonies internally, is not here enquired into. The Author thinks it pity that ever fuch a question fhould have been started. He feems to admit the right, in fpeculation; but he thinks it ought to be feldom or never exercised; in which cafe, he fays, our parliament may fafely affert it, and the American affemblies will not deny it but the point he chiefly infifts upon, is the inexpediency, injustice, and abfurdity of the Stamp act. Having endeavoured to prove this, and bestowed fome chaftifement on Mr. G. G——, as the contriver and promoter of the act, he proceeds to state the bad effects that, in his opinion, will refult from our attempting to enforce this act, amounting (if we are fuccessful in employing force) to no less than the ruin of the colonies, and the deftruction of our trade with them: while, on the other hand, a bare suspension only of the act may serve to bring matters about, in an amicable way; but an entire repeal is what he would recommend, as the only means to reconcile the colonies to their mother-country, and to restore peace, plenty, and cordiality to every part of the British empire. Art, 17. Confiderations on the Propriety of impofing Taxes in the British Colonies, for the Purpose of raifing a Revenue, by Act of Parliament. 8vo. 1s. 6d. North-America printed; Lon-Me auther don re-printed, for Almon. A Mr Dulaney of tiriny This is a more ftrenuous champion for the colonies, than the preceding Confiderer. He denies the parliament's right of taxing the colonists, internally; and he enters pretty deeply into the argument. The zeal of this patriotic North-American fometimes carries him rather too far in his reflections on the mother country; but we think fuch warmth the more excufable, as it may be an indication of the Writer's honefly, whatever may be faid of his prudence. In his preface he fenfibly apologizes for the plainnefs, fimplicity, and freedom' of his manner; and, indeed, we think with him, that a decent firmness, in a good cause, is to be ferred to a fofter and more delicate style, which fometimes may ferve only to enervate the argument, for want of urging it with its full force. On the whole, there are many important confiderations in this tract; which, therefore, must be ranked among the most material of those pieces which have appeared in behalf of our American brethren. pre Art. 18. Confideratiors on the Points lately brought into Question, as to the Parliament's Right of taxing the Colonies, and of the Meafures neceffary to be taken at this Crifis. Being an Appendix, Section III. to The Adminiftration of the Colonies. 8vo. IS. DodЛley. In our thirtieth vol. p. 441, Seq. we gave an account of the first edition of Governor Pownal's mailerly performance, entitled The Admi nistration of the Colonies.' Since that time, we have mentioned a fecond * Mr. Pownal was governor of Massachusett's Bay, &c. REV. Jan, 1766. F edition |