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was much colder. The twenty-feventh and twenty-eighth much rain and high winds. The principal winds W. and N. E.

⚫ October was alternately fair, cloudy, and foggy, with frequent rains very cold the eighth and tenth. High winds the firft, twelfth, thirteenth, feventeenth, twentieth. The principal winds S. E.

November was fair, cloudy, and wet by intervals; much rain the fifteenth, fixteenth, and twenty-ninth. High winds the first, third, fifteenth, fixteenth, twenty-fifth and twentyninth the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth, frofty. The principal winds N. W. In September and October a remitting fever was obferved, chiefly among the poor, fometimes attended with purple spots, and commonly ending with a fweat in fifteen days, and not mortal.

The fum total of burials in Dublin in 1724 was two thoufand nine hundred and forty-one.

INTE R, 1725, 1726. 'December. Frofty in the beginning and fome fnow: else alternately fair, cloudy, and wet. A ftorm the fecond; high winds the fifth, ninth, twentieth, twenty-firft, and twentyfecond. The principal winds W. January was a month of the hardest weather for fnow, rains, floods, and great inundations over all Europe that ever was known. High winds the firft, fecond, fifteenth, and twenty-feventh. The principal winds N. W. and S. W.

February was cloudy, rarely fair, cold, with frequent fhowers of fnow or fleet. The third and fixth much rain; the eighteenth stormy; the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth frosty.

SUMMARY.

The spring inclined to fair and dry.

The fummer wet and cold, as over the greatest part of Europe.

The autumn variable.

A cold winter, fnow and rain frequent.'

The introduction contains feveral ingenious remarks on the climate and difeafes of Ireland in particular; and, upon the whole, we think the work is an acquifition to the natural hiftory of that kingdom.

III. An Inquiry into the Efficacy of Warm Bathing in Palfies. By R. Charleton, M. D. Phyfician to the General Hofpital at Bath. 8v. Pr. 1s. 6d. White.

IT

T might naturally be imagined, from the general title of this Inquiry, that it promifed an account of the effects of every kind of warm bathing in palfics, though the author

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only treats of the particular effects of the Bath waters alone; his intention being to ascertain the queftion, whether fuch an use of these waters be beneficial or injurious in those disorders of the nerves? The principal authorities produced for and against this practice are taken from Dr. Willis and Dr. Mead, the former of whom has exprefly recommended the Bath waters as the most effectual remedy in paralytic complaints, whilft the latter condemns all kind of warm bathing without exception. In order to determine this point, Dr. Charleton exhibits a table of the number of paralytic patients admitted into the general hospital at Bath, during the space of thirteen years, by which it appears, that out of nine hundred and fixty-nine, eight hundred and thirteen were benefitted. In regard to the objections which have been urged against thefe waters, he obferves, that it is natural for men to be governed in their judgments by what falls under their own obfervation: hence it is, that we are often tempted to draw general conclufions from the good, or ill, fuccefs of a few particular cafes. But it is on full and repeated experience, not on partial or cafual, that aphorifms in the art of medicine are to be drawn, or can te well founded; and, therefore, as the evidences here produced are both numerous and decifive, I fhall not hesitate to affirm, whatever authority there may be to the contrary, that bathing in thefe waters is ufeful in palfies.'

In fupport of the doctrine above delivered, our author produces feveral particular cafes of palfies arifing from various caufes, which, together with the good effects of these waters, contain many judicious and ufeful obfervations. We fhall prefent our readers with the following, as exhibiting a cafe of a very fingular nature.

A pally of the lower limbs, from convulsion fits.

• Samuel Manning, of Minching Hampton, aged 22, had been always healthy till one day, having over-heated himself and getting wet immediately afterwards, he was taken in the evening with fo fevere a pain in his head and back, that he became fpeechlefs and loft his fenfes.

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By bleeding, blifters, and other proper remedies, he was in a few days brought to himself; but the attack left behind a train of nervous fpafms, which affected him for a fortnight, and frequently occafioned convulfion fits.

When thefe fits left him, he had, for above a month, periodical returns of a numbness in his legs and thighs; which were preceded by a ftrange uneafy fenfation in the Os Sacrum, and finart pains in the foles of his feet.

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.•This numbness, which always began about eight in the evening and continued till four in the morning, at length ceafing, he was again seized with convulfion fits, for four days fucceffively; in which his ftrugglings were violent, and while they lafted he was deprived of his fenfes.

Two days after these fits had ceased, the fame train of nervous fpafms returned with which he had been affected in the beginning of his disorder. Their continuance, indeed, was totally void of all motion in his

fhort, but then they left him lower limbs: for which complaint he was fent to our hofpital. • About three weeks after his entrance on a regimen of these waters, he fell ill of the fmall pox, and was then in so feeble a ftate, that his recovery was fcarcely to be expected. He got, however, through that distemper, which was of the fulleft diftinct fort, but received no benefit as to his palfy in confequence of it. He returned as foon as was proper to the waters; drank them in moderate dofes, and used bathing every third morning. This plan he purfued for two months, and obtained by it a confiderable abatement in his paralytic complaints; when, by an act of great imprudence, he not only put a stop to his progrefs, but endangered his life. For, as he was carried to the bath, he was taken with a shivering and a pain in his head, yet, notwithstanding thefe fymptoms of a fevere cold, he went into the bath, and staid there much too long. On his return, the pain of the head increased to that degree as to render him dilirious, and a fever fucceeded, which for many days fubjected him to the most imminent danger.

When the ill effects of this accident were over, a pursuit of his former plan, uninterrupted by any finister events, effectually restored his limbs to their native ftrength and activity; and, after a refidence in the hospital of 127 days, he returned home free from all complaints.

It may be remarked from the enumeration of the symptoms in many of the preceding cafes, that thofe diforders which are usually termed nervous or hysteric do frequently accompany the palfy; and, as it likewife appears from the present, as well as from a foregoing history (and other examples might have been produced) that they fometimes also give rife to the palfy; the connection of thefe difeafes, it is prefumed, will render a state of such patients not unneceffary, who for nervous and hyfteric complaints have been received into our hofpital.

And this account I fhall the more readily give, as there are phyficians of good reputation, in the prefent age, who feem to have no favourable opinion of the Bath waters in fuch diforders; contrary, indeed, to the judgment of Sydenham, by whom they are strongly recommended. But, waving all claim to authority,

thority, let us appeal to facts for the decifion of their chas racter.

Within the time allotted to the prefent inquiry, I find by our regifter books, that eight patients have been admitted, whofe disease was the St. Vitus's dance.—Of these three were discharged cured; three left the houfe much better; and two received no benefit.

Of others, who laboured under various anomalous affections of the nerves, the total number amounts to 146. Of which 113 were either cured, or greatly benefited; eighteen were no better; five died; feven were improper; and three were dif charged at their own request.

To this general evidence many particular inftances might be fubjoined of the efficacy of Bath waters in nervous diseases; but this not being our immediate purpose, I fhall only mention one cafe, whofe fingularity will apologize for its publication.

Mary Ford, of a fanguine and robuft conftitution, aged 26, was admitted into the hofpital, under my care, Sept. 29, 1762. Her complaint was an involuntary motion of her right arm. It was occafioned by a fright, which first brought on convulfion fits. She was uncertain how long these fits continued, but the first perception fhe had of returning fense was a moft excruciating pain in her ftomach. On a fudden this pain vanished; and her right arm was inftantaneously flung into an involuntary and perpetual motion.

She had in vain made ufe of the most likely means to conquer her diforder; which, at the time fhe gave me this account, had continued, without any abatement, for upwards of fixteen months: nine of which he had been a patient in the Exeter Infirmary.

This motion of the arm was like the fwing of a pendulum; which it refembled alfo in being regular and inceffant. It was befides quick, and fo ftrong, that the hand was at every vibration flung up higher than her head. And what adds much to this fingular phænomenon is, that it neither fatigued her nor abated her ftrength; yet, if by any means whatever it was stopped, even thongh by herself, a moft fevere pain immediately feized her ftomach, and convulfion fits were the certain confequence.

Once, at my request, fhe took a light walking cane in her hand; which he had no fooner done, but, this motion becoming irregular and unequal, the pain of her ftomach returned with extreme violence, and fhe fell into the strongest convulfion fit 1 ever faw; out of which he did not recover, till the arm had, after infinite ftruggles, returned to its accustomed vibration.

With respect to the general ftate of her health, this patient was no ways difordered. Her appetite and digestion were good, the catamenia were regular, and the other fecretions and evacuations perfect. Her fleep indeed was too fhort; it feldom lafting longer than three or four hours. During fleep, the motion of her arm ceased; but the inftant fhe awoke (and fhe was always awakened by a pain of the ftomach) it returned, and continued, without intermiffion, for the remainder of the four and twenty hours.

After fhe had drunk the waters and bathed for about a month, finding no amendment in her complaint, I prefcribed for her a medicine composed of afafætida and opium. She began with taking a grain of opium every day, and gradually increased the quantity to four grains a day.

In the ufe of this remedy, together with bathing, and drinking the waters, fhe perfifted for another month; but without any kind of benefit. On the contrary, those days she went into the bath her spirits and ftrength were much weakened. She was ordered, therefore, to omit bathing, and to have her arm and the spine of the back pumped every, or every other day, for as long a time as the could bear it. Drinking the waters and her medicine were continued; for I obferved the opium neither occafioned drowfinefs, relaxation of the folids, nor any defect in the performance of those functions on which health depends.

It was near three weeks after fhe had commenced this last plan, before any alteration was made in her disorder; when, as fhe was one day using the pump, the motion of her arm fuddenly changed; and, having been perpendicular, became horizontal.

This change made it evident, that a different set of muscles were now affected; on which account it was not unreasonable to fuppofe, that, by perfevering in thofe measures which had occafioned fuch an alteration, the entire cure of the difeafe might in time be effected. Nor did the fuppofition happen to be wrong; for this horizontal motion grew gradually less and lefs, till it entirely ceased, and the arm becaine obedient to her will. Before the left the hofpital, March 30th, 1763, her arm was fo perfectly restored to its natural motion and strength, that I have seen her carry with it a brafs bucket full of water, and affift in washing the ward the belonged to.

Upon her discharge, he went into fervice; but came back to us about two months afterwards. She had felt fome flight attacks of pain in her ftomach, and, therefore, dreaded the return of the involuntary motion of the arm. But by, occa fionally, taking a few warm aloetic purges, and drinking the VOL. XXIX Jan. 1770.

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