The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-10 00:00:00

THE MIRROR.

THE SUN,

blind she underwent three operations ; one eye " was
cut," to use her own expression, three times; and on one
of these occasions she saw a flash of light before the
bandage was put on. When the last operaticn Was per-
formed (which took place she thinks about twenty years
ago), the surgeon advised her never to undergo another,
for that her sight was quite gone.
She had two children after she became blind. The
appearance of the eyes was this; a thick, opaque, grey-
ish- white substance rested upon them, but in one eye
there was a small spot less opaque, or at least thinner
than the rest, through which, when she held her head in
a particular direction, she could perceive the shadows I
hare alluded to.
" When her case was undertaken, the intention of
operating for the benefit of the eyes was not, as I have
said, made known to her ; the expectation of relieving
severe rheumatic pain in the head and shoulders, and
giddiness and heaviness of the head, under which she had
suffered for many years, was the only one held out to
her. Of mesmerism, it may be supposed, she knew
nothing ; but, having implicit confidence in us, and,
being tod that we thought we could relieve pain by
placing a hand on her head and then drawing it down
to her feet, she willingly consented to sit down.
"At first she felt only ' a cold trill run down her
arms;' soon she expressed her surprise that s,he could sit
so still, being habitually very restless; by degrees she
became sleepy, and, while apologising for feeling so
drowsy, and striving for a few miouti s to resist the in-
fluence, she fell asleep. It was epiarently• a natural
sleep. On awaltieg, she said that a great weight
had been ris from her head,' and that '_the pain was
gone.'
" The mesmerism was continued daily; but still with
the professed intention of improving her hcelth. No-
thing was said about the sight, lest expectation should
lead to disappointment. In the course of a little time,
however, during one of her sittings, she said that she
saw something bright and coloured pass before her.
It was found to be her mesmeriser's ring; and this cir-

cumstance encouraged us to feel and to make known to
her a strong hope that her eyesight might be partially,
at least, restored.

" She was, at this time, mesmerised daily (with seve-
ral interruptions of a day or two) fur four months, and
then three times a week for about two or three months
longer, using mesmerised water also to wash the eyes. At
this period the strength of her mesmeriser became ex-
hausted by her exertions,* so that she was obliged to
discontinue them, and I took up the case. By this time,
however, the poor woman's sight was partially restored;
she could see colours in the shop windows and walk into
town unassisted. Iler sleep became less like natural
sleep at this time. She saw vivid colours in the (lark
when I passed my hand before her eyes, and light
seemed to stream from them. She also conversed freely
in her sleep.
" Since the above period, health and other circum-
stances have somewhat interfered with the treatment of
our patient. I mesmerised her at first three times a
week, and afterwards twice, with the exception of about
three months in each year (during which I was absent),
down to the present time—December, 1848—the whole
period being about three years and five months since the
case was undertaken; two years and eight months of
which the mesmerism was going on only twice a week.
During this period the outward manifestations of change
in the symptoms of the eyes were, first that she could
close them, whereas she had never since her blindness
been able to close the lids over them, even during natural
sleep; secondly, that water frequently poured from them
after mesmerising, whereas they used to be perfectly
dry; and, thirdly, that the opaque substance which
covered them, first became thinner over the upper part
of the eye and thicker beneath, and gradually a small
portion of the pupil became visible.
" The present state of the eyes (dated Dec., 1848) is
this:—the opacity of the cornea in one eye has disep-
peered, leaving, at least, only a slight cloudiness in one
-pot, which clues not prevent her seeing with it as well
as other women of her age; in the other eye, the opacity
is very much contracted and occupies only a small space
in the bottom part of the eye, leaving the upper part
clear. She surprised us, about eight months ago, by
spelling out the letters stamped on a glass bottle,
which a person present, not much older, could not
read without glasses; and this is the more remarkable,
because she had never been a good scholar, and had
been twenty-three years without seeing a letter
until a short time previously, when she had
begun to amuse herself, first; with reading the large
levers on the printed bills fixed to the walls, and after-
terwards in a book. She can now work in the common
way, but not thread her needle, though she can see the
eye of it perfectly, which I attribute partly to want of
practice, and that it is a habit so early acquired that we
are not aware of its difficulty when attempted at a later
age. She cuts out her caps, walks into town (your miles)
alone to make her little purchases, and performs all the
ordinary occupatiens of life. And these things are the
more remarkable in her, seeing that she was extremely
awkward in everything she attempted, and had never
performed for herself any of those little offices which
blind people are usually taught to accomplish, and had
always a child to assist and lead her about excepting in
her own immediate locality, where the people knew her
at d got out of her way."

TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN
RUSSELL, M.P., &c., &c., &c.
MT Lord,—Your Lordship was pleased to inform
the Irish Members, " that as swan as the views of
the Cabinet had been sufficiently matured, the Go-
vernmeie; plan should be stared in the House of Com-
mons." I trust your Lordship only means to give a
general outline, and not to attempt entering into the
ea.:fle; for it wou!d be just as unwise to do so, as it
would have been to have given Sir Charles Napier
instructions how he was to conduct the campaign in
the Punjaub.
None who have not studied the question can pro-
perly appreciate the difficulties necessarily attendant
upon carrying out the Government plans, if these
two en& are to be attained : first, that the advances
to be made shall employ the greatest number of per-
sons in the distressed unions ; secondly, that such
advances shall be repaid.
I will now enumerate a few of the most important
questions which will inevitably arise. First, to what
extent, and in what manner, should the unions be
parties ? It is clear that enormous benefit will
be conferred on landlords in those districts in
hich the Government advances are spent, whose
land ie to be benefited by arterial drainage, and upon
what conditions.
Is the work to be performed in those unions where
the distress is greatest and the rates highest ? There
is a premium held out to neighbouring unions to
qualify themselves for such assistance. Is the work
to be performed in those unions where the distress is
least and poor-law light in consequence of the exer-
tion of landlords ? Then the object of Parliament will
not be answered, and the distressed unions will not be
relieved.
Is the work to he performed by Government—by
the union—by landlords—or by individuals contract-
ing with these parties ? Keeping in view the fart,
that the labourers in these unions are in an emaciated
and demoralized condition, in consequence of their
icing for some time received the minimum of food
without the performance of any work, the solution of
this question will he no easy task.
It is difficult to estimate the loss a contractor would
incur by employing labourers incapable, or unwilling
to werk, but the loss to a union would be far
greater, and that to the Government immense; and,
then, if you resolve to avail yourselves of individual
sagacity and hopefulness, another important question
arises.
If the works are to be carried on with that rapi-
dity- wl.ich is one of the elements of success, then
other labourers besides those of the union will be
temporarily required. The work completed, and
then—what ? If, on the other hand, these works are
only to be carried on so as to absorb the surplus
labour in the distressed unions, then the repayment
of the advances will be in jeopardy.
All these questions are most important, and their
proper solution requires a master mind—such the
Government have in Lord Clarendon, and the task is
worthy of his powers. Place, therefore, in his hands
the working of the measures, and success is morally
certain. Attempt to define the details by Act of
Parliament, and prepare for failure—the money of
the industrious classes wasted—the condition of the
Irish people hardly improved—and universal discon-
tent both there and in England.
Employ no commissioners, whether amateur or
paid. Bentham said that Government boards were
only screens. Goverliment commissioners are some-
thing worse ; all the good they can do is far better
done by employees, who, in fact, usually perform
the work.
A careful perusal of these difficultieY, and others
which will suggest themselves, will naturally recal
to your Lordship's mind your first project, viz., the
reclamation of waste lands, which Sir Robert Peel
chose to defeat. How much easier to be accom-
plished! How comparatively free of the difficulties
which are attendant upon the other measures ! How
much more beneficial to the Irish people!
For in the reclamation of waste lands it is not pos-
sible to perform the work in a short period ; every
year requires more and more labour, and that of all
descriptions; the comparatively feeble, women and
children, useless in the formation of railroads or of
arterial drainage, would be usefully employed.
When the railroad is completed, the arterial drainage
as now ? These
then
even
nsful reclamation of
ficlnaii,nhoctd,hewrilelpeiatted, but a not be
followed to an asnalelnofurmrhoiushs
ewxatsetne land
ILdNev
cbccompletedNou
y
ven when
much employment for the people.
However, truth is just,
Npvriellvahiel ;ontienod
assuredly the reclamation of i.
the of jects of a wise Government; but in my next
would,s
letter will \ enture to suggest a mode which
which to col in his judgment.
and give to Lord Clarendon the best possible data on
I have the honour to remain,
m measures,
and think, a,tist in carrying out Government
Your Lordship's most obedient servant,
RIGB Y WA SON.
Comer, April, 1849.

The opening article of the Mirror is entitled " The
Champions of Privilege," and is a regular " smasher"
of Mr. Charles Macfarlane, who, from being a book-
seller's hack, has turned cad to the King of Naples,
whose character he admires (Mr. Macfarlane is a
gentleman of peculiar tastes), and whose atrocities he
attempts to justify. This literary flunkey gets a most
unmerciful lashing in the Mirror. It was richl)
deserved, and is well laid on. " The Adventures of
a -French Republican," by Percy B. St. John, are
continued, and the chapters contained in the present
number are peculiarly valuable, as exposing the in•
trigues by which Guizot, Thiers, Mule, De Mon•
talivet, and Odilun Barrot took advantage of the
simplicity of Lafayette (as they are now endeavouring
to do of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), in order, " for
a consideration," to escamoter the Republic to the
advantage of the Orleans dynasty. Hargrave Jen-
nings' " Mirror of the Month" is overflowing with
Poetry, as is 131am:hard Jerrold's dissertation on a
" Man with One Opinion" with quaintness. The
other papers are of more than average merit, and the
present number of the Mirror may be considered as
an improvement upon its predecessors.

THE QUAR rEitidEs.
THE ZOIST.
The present number of this quarterly journal of
mesmeric science contains a narrative of a cure of
blindness by means of mesmerism, which is, if pos.
Bible, even more remarkable than the cure of cancer
recorded in a former number of this periodical, to
which we directed the public attention some months
"en. In that case the operator was Dr. Elliotson,
and therefore the mesmerism was in that instance
applied with all the knowledge of therapeutical science
Which hard study
and long practice cannot but give
to
the professional man ; but in the present instance
the
Mesmerism was applied by a lady, a near con-
nel •
nn of a very distinguished prelate, whose rank
and station
and high character are such guarantees of
th` sincerity as to put to silence the sceptics who, in
A e case of a person of less elevated rank, might in-
dulge in scoffs. The following is the narrative of
tibia most extraordinary case :
in," -kt is now more than three years since one of the
bli—,l"ers of my family undertook to mesmerise a poor
ro-m
herwomn in our village, v. Hi a view of attempting to
_,B tore
utitesight ; but with the p,roftssed till 1F imme-
"u"esign only of relieving severe pain in the head and
Al with confusion and giddiness of the brain,
f Itch had long distressed her. She was aged about
12irlotY-fie 3 ears, and had been blind tvrtnty-six of these.
to,. WI
-8 torn and bred in our Niliarve, and IN 4n I first
was her sixteen years ago, as " th'e blind woman," she
etusi led about by a little girl: one t f her nicer s. She
4,1,.G1 filth one eye faintly th.cern light fro•e darkness,
but" at least as to perceive shadows passing before her;
she Could not judge of their distance, or wal with-
stumbling over every object in ber way, neither could
'four chscern colour or form. She would mistrite a doultoy
The a man, the undefined shade bang all that she saw.
e distills.° was called opacity of the corne.
41;1-he became blind three or f, ur months after the
tah", of her first child, partly she zhinks through a cold
partly through the painful remedies which sr-me
in the neighbourhooad recommnded to
]sere Intithe course of a few years after she became

ISIIV suffered exceedingly in contegutnce of her ex-
ertions; and I mention the circumstance with the view
of clutioning young persons agairst undertaking chronic
ewes before they arc arrived at the possoisien of their
full growth and strength. She was herself, however, re-
stred to health by mesmerism, which the skilful phy-
sician who attended her was wise enough to prescribe and
kind enough to afford.

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 10, 1849.

grand banquetting chamber in the pavilion of Haroun
al Ra'.chid. This transformation of scene had a
beautiful effect. They now refresh themselves from
the Caliph's table, in company with Ibrahim, his chief
atendant (Mr. Oxberry), whom the Commander of
the Faithful (Mr. C. Fisher) finds drank on his
return. However, he accords a gracious reception to
the enamoured pair, and furnishes them with a pardon
to Noureddin under his own seal, to secure his
safety with the monarch of Balsora, who is a vassal
of the Court of Bagdad. Previous to their
departure they are entertained by an exhibition of
his dancing girls, who execute a ballet, which was
warmly applauded. The grouping was remarkably
pod, and a pus de deux by Mademoiselles Therese
Cushnie and Le Clercq excited a perfect furore. Le
Clercq (may her shadow never he less !) enchantel
the spectators with her exquisite combination of
agility and grace. The Ape, who remains behind at
the Sultan's special request, has sportively purloined
the seal appended to the pardon, so that on their
return to Balsora, the imperfect document is treated
with utter contempt by the King, who tears the lovers
asunder, and orders Noureddin for instant execution.
The block ani grim headsman are prepared, and the
fatal mandate given, when the faithful Ape appears
with the imperial seal, and bursts of music announce
the advent of the Caliph. The terrified ruler of
Balsora abdicates in order to avert the indignation
of his suzerain, and his intended victim is appointed
his successor in the regal dignity. Such is the out-
line of Youreddin and the Fair Persian, which pos-
sesses superlative merit as a spectacular burlesque.
The incidents are highly amusing, the dialogue
apposite and witty, and the miss en scene magnificent.
The plaudits, frequent and hearty throughout, were
tumultuous at the fall of the curtain, and the author
being unanimously called for, bowed his acknow-
ledgements from a private box. The extravaganza
proved a decided hit, and we pronounce the adapter,
the manager, and the performers to have deserved
well of their country.

ST. JAMES'S.
Magic hath still her votaries, and last night her
temple was crowded by those who are anxious to
pay honour due to her chief minister,
Robert Houd i n.
The great magician was greater than ever. His dis-
tribution from the come d'abondance was upon a mon-
ster scale of liberalty, and his feats were performed
with infinite grace, elegance, and neatness.