The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-28 00:00:00

or.,

---_, ......% PR. ELLIOTSON ON MESMERISM 1 MR. WILSON'S FAREWELL
EXTRAORDINARY CASE. i ENTERTAINMENT.. TO THE EDITOR OF THE " MEDICAL TIMES." I The concluding entertainment—the last of a series of
SIR,--A short time ago Captain Valiant, of the melodious Monday evenings, continued unintermittingly
4th Regiment, brought me a letter of introduction since Decemb r last, was delivered by Mr. Wilson at the
fromfrom Mr. Wien the artist, and informed me how Music Hall in Store-street yesterday evening. As a
naPPY he should' be to show me a wonderful instance farewell lecture, we expected that the best art of the
-•
of mesmerism in his nurse : he soon afterwards vocalist and his choicest songs would be so
",,,brought her to me, in company with Mrs. Valiant and combined by him together as to create a parting
fitting to be garnered in remembrance. Nor were
:,Ltie.n. eral Sir T. Willshire, Bart. She was a sllort, we disappointed. Mr. Wilson rang the changes on
,Loeneate, artless woman, about thirty years of age— Scotch, Swiss, English, and French, with no less wt-
.'s., one of those worthy and attached servants who are so I riety than richness. First came a merry Jacobite ditty,
Fvaluable in families, and so valued and esteemed in 1 in which, as the Highlander, he stuck the " bonny white
ood families. She
.consented to let me mesmerise I rose" in his bonnet, flung the plaid over his shoulders,
her, if her mistress remained at her side. She was shouted aloud for " Charlie," and carolled a curse on
presently fast asleep, and in a state of sleep-waking. " auld carlie," or George the Second. Next he rambled
tier eyes became firmly closed; she was greatly dis- among the refined beauties of Rooke's " .Amilie ;" he
tressed and agitated if I ceased to touch her, though sang the return of the Switzer to his home, pouring his
the contact of the toe of my boot against her shoe
home-song on the winds, as lie retraced the pathways of
his childhood. Thereafter lie chaunted of a Sylph—one of
was sufficient. My purpose is not to describe the
those bright enticing spirits of the Rhine, who, with their
Phenomena of.• her case, but to give you an account glances, like golden sun-rays, throw a spell and fascina-
of the inestimable advantages of mesmerism, in tion over the mortal whom they, Siren like, are bent on
enablin
oyrg her to go through a severe and long surgical betraying. Next, he cracked the whip, and jingled the
ation, without the slightest pain. The facts you bells of the handsome " Postilion of Lonjumeau," per.
.v. 11 find in two papers : one written by the surgeon, sonified the boldness and supremacy of the robber life in
himself an unbeliever up to the time of the operation; " Fra Diavolo," and wound up with " Tullochgorum," in
the other by her master, Captain Valiant. a glorious roll and chorus.
I cannot, however, refrain from mentioning that So great was the desire to hear Mr. Wilson last night,
at. his last lecture, that nook, cranny, and corner were
fen the Captain first called upon me, Mr. Brookes,
lo
tilled almost beyond their capacities of space, and re-
.43l7ll,.rnin..gham, was in m3,r library, with
. his patient,
.
heated encores attended several of his songs. Several of
for je,naktgr, whose case is detailed in your number h:

une 4th. The Captain witnessed the excite•
the
mint and stupefaction of various mental faculties in

ais countrymen—bold-made,• handsome men—were pre
sent near him on the platform, as &so two members
thi

YMlng woman during her mesmeric sleep-wok.
og, by mesmerising and demesmerising the various
r° rresponding parts of the head according to phreno-
' gY• On returning home he threw his servant into
the mesmeric state ; and, although she wa3 totally
gnorant of phrenology, as he assures me, he excited
and depressed her various faculties at pleasure, with-
out any hint to her, by manipulating the various
Phrenological organs. I, therefore, repeated these
hrPeriments the day following, when he and Mrs.
aliant, and Sir T. Willshire, called. Dr. Rigoni,
~e Professor of Physiology in the University of Pavia;
. the Turkish Charge d'Affaires, the highly distin-
guished Mr. W. C. Fox, and several others, were pre-
sent; some on this and others on a second occasion
on .
4 which I made the trial. Her eyes were closed,
~14 she was in a perfect sleep-waking, as I have
,3-hready said. On touching the organ of Self-esteem,
we rose instantly from her seat, elevating her hand as
d:g,ll as possible, speaking with the utmost pride and
ti-ns'ain, displaying the natural language of these emo-
in—Us in the most exquisite manner. On
e ue withdraw-
my finger, and placing it upon the organ of Bone-
and kind e, the change was instantaneous to a humble
s;lexpression of countenance and voice, and
fine was all gentleness and goodness. On placing my
ger on the organ of Wit, she became at once most
e
11..7 and facetious. On pointing over the organ of
and Love and Attachment, she became serious
izil`((,l gentle, and the tears streamed down both cheeks;
to her distress was such that I was obliged to
b lien over some other organ. She talked of her hus-
aund, Whom she had not long seen, and of Mrs. Va-
vi irs baby, On touching over Destructiveness, her
pri°dence was outrageous ; but instantly changed to
e, gentleness melancholy attachment, or wit,
When
tboso ''„'Y finger left it for the respective organs of
sraculties. I played upon her brain, by my
theser
abo Miracles of mesmerism, witnessed by me now for
inv‘,..e,five years, these phenomena mrpassed all. Still
gi've'"aracter is too cautious and laborious for me to
invelll Opinion on mesmeric phrenology till I have
btigated this branch of the subject more; and I
dra therefore now present you with a statement
• 1:7,11 up by Dr. Charlton.
caiL",r• Elliotson then gives the statement of Dr.
tin riton, from which it appears that a severe opera-
frirtiC was performed on the gums and jaw of a servant-
While under the effects of mesmerism, without
er evincing
that the slightest feeling, or even being aware
la any operation had been performed. This is fol-
ed by a statement 'made by Captain Valiant, de-
teheerib_aing a similar operation on a young woman with
Letb_ 8 success. Dr. Charlton, at the conclusion of
Le ease described by him, adds, " I had hitherto
e
' ;11in the habit of ridiculing, and indeed disbeliev-
g; every statement connected with mesmerism, but
Cu it impossible to reject the facts of this case,
I:ls,aght home by the evidence of so many senses."]
r erhaps some of the medical world will believe this
and begin to be satisfied that mesmerism is not
'4Pr true, but useful.
Ale Professors of University College had the fact
"efore their eves of a seton being passed into the neck
one of my patients who required it, without the
;k"ghtest sensation ; .so that when I demesmerised her,
p
was astonished beyond measure. The faculty of
„v4is knew that_M. Cloquet cut off a breast from a
se°hMa n in the mesmeric state without the slightest
• ittoa,ton, as may be seen in the Penny Cyclopirdia,
•Ali;niee,Soninumbulism. But they have all, up to this
'nets :been as indifferent to the fact as the cattle
stea47lg- iu....the meadows are to the wonders of the
liages passing by them on the railroads.
.41Pre Gardiner, of Roche Court, Hamp-
sot4eLen4anced a young lady preparatorily to having
Ports til• extracted, and the astonished dentist at
`i-ord;„-utith took them out, prolonging the tug at Mr.
(ia „.-er's request, without her knowledge ; so
.that,
Ler ink awakened she went to the glass to satisfy
of ersolitt.ttliliaatrathey were' out. My friend Mr. Prideaux,
pton, has extracted several without a
opef,' :after entrancing his patients previously to the
4:1;(1,11. The time will come when no painful ope-
Iviler:;l.7 be performed, without a previous attempt,
vtilt nii'ere is time, to entrance the patient and pre-
- have the honour to remain, Sir,
C 0,.. H N ELLIOTSON.outt-street, June 21 JO
1842.

le Society of True Highlanders, in the rich and sump.
zuous array of clansmen—Roderick Dhu would hay:. been
proud of them on the mountains. No doubt that the
warmth and enthusiastic spirit with which Mr. Wilson
was last night received, will waft him on his way to the
North Li a glow of pleasure, causing also the remem-
brance of his flattering reception in London to remain as
a spot, green, and sunny, and gladsome in his memory.

LITERATURE.
BRIAN, THE PROBATIONER.
&ins, London, 1842.
We have perused this tragedy with great interest,
for it is written with force and earnestness, and at
the same time with unaffected simplicity. The plot
turns on the misfortunes of a young, reserved, stu-
dious Scotchman, Brian Hunter, who is a tutor in the
familg of 'Kaird, Lord Provost of Edinburgh,
by whom he is deservedly respected for his
irreproachable habits, and his conscientious at-
tention to the tastes and morals of his pupils.
Unfortunately, however, for his own peace of mind,
Brian cherishes a fervent but secret passion for Mag-
dalene, a beautiful orphan protected by Kaird ; and
after vainly struggling for some time against this dis-
astrous attachment, he at length resolves on confessing
it to the fhir object of his infatuation, being driven to
th'.s course from the fact of his having ascertained that
she is about to marry his rival, St. Claire. Magdalene
listens to his suit, but gives him no hope, though she
professes esteem, friendship, &c. for him ; and soon
after Wards Kaird ascertains that he has been secretly
corresponding with her, whereupon the indignant
Provost dismisses him from his post of tutor to his
sons. Driven to desperation by the loss of Kaird's
favour, and his own strong passion for Magdalene,
the wretched Brian wanders about alone in the neigh-
bourhood of Edinburgh, and in a sudden paroxysm
of madness endeavours to stab himself with a knife;
but just at that moment his hand is arrested
by his two young pupils, who taunting him beyond
his endurance, for his meditated crime, he murders
them both, and is immediately afterwards discovered,
and in consequence executed for the crime. The
character of Brian is maintained with unvarying
consistency ; and there is infinite vigour in.
the scene wherein he first acknowledges to
Magdalene the love with which she had long,
unknown to herself, inspired him. This last, too, is a
sweet and graceful portrait, full of true feminine sen-
sibility. By a memoir affixed to the tragedy, we
learn that it is the production of the late Miss Isabel
Hill— a young lady of very versatile talents, and who
wrote prose and verse with nearly equal readiness
and ability.

THE LEVANT MAIL.
By the regular mail from the Levant we have received a
further supply of Malta papers to the 15th inst. inclusively, with
accounts from Constantinople of the 7th, Smyrna of the 9th,
and Alexandria of the 6th.

EGYPT.

ALEXANDRIA, JUNE 6.—The only commercial novelty
during the last ten days has been the sale by public auction, by
the Government, of 10,000 crores cotton, on the 30th ult., at
gad. per crore, or about sid. per pound, bought by the agents
wno were creditors of the Government; while from the present
want of water in the canal and lowness of the Nile, this cotton
will not be deliverable for six or eight weeks to come. Not-
withstanding the readiness with which all parties here pur-
chased for cash the setsainum seed sold last month, deliverable
in December next, nu more has been put up for sale, and the
Treasury being thus kept without money, no measures can be
adopted to pay the whole or any part of the heavy arrears due
to the troops and all persons in the employ of the Government,
and several acts of mutiny, theft, and insubordination have
lately been the result of this abominable want of all system in
the Government Financial Department. •
The ridiculous tariff of Constantinople, for Custom-house
duties, so very inapplicable to this country, has at length given
way to a more equitable mode of collecting these duties, more
in accordance with the spirit of the treaty, whiCh evidently
intended that the import and export duties should be really ad
valorem 5 per cent. and 12 per cent., and not nearly double
these per-centages.
Nothing of any further political interest has occurred since
my last. Cases of plague still continue to be reported, a few
daily ; but otherwise the mortality of this town is below its
usual average.

A letter- from Alexandria, June 6, in the Malta Times,
says :—" The Pacha, within the last ten days, gave orders that
his employes might receive the 25 months pay due to them
either in grain, aquavitaa, wine, or honey ; but on representa-
tion being made by the sycophants at Court, that in paying
them in grain he was causing great loss to the merchants who
lately brought such a large quantity of commesttbili against
Government assignments, he instantly gave orders that they
might have as much aquavitaa as they liked, at about 300 per
cent. above the market price, but that he could not allow them
to have grain. as in so doing he would be acting dishonourably
to the merchants. The Pacha is said to be in a very bad hu-
mour, owing to the disorganised state of his finances. An
Arab merchant was murdered a few days ago by some sailors
of the Pacha. The murderers have not been discovered.
They stripped him of everything he had upon his person.
Colonel Barnett is beginning to put in order some of his pug-
nacious subjects, by informing them that unless they mend
their ways and manners he will be forced to order them out of
the country. The Colonel dined with the Pacha on the 2d
inst. The following correspondence has taken place between
Col. Barnett, the English Consul-General and Boghos Bey :.
«

THE SLAVE TRADE.
RLTSSIAN UKASE.
vrraas Rollo 11, MAY 27.—His Majesty the Emperor has
the to the Directing Se ate tnhe following ukase, relative to
..oPPression of the slave trade
tosieull: illustrious predecessor and dearly beloved brother of
I;;°Pkal, tee, olory, telg at the most memorable period of his ever
h. when the congress of monarchs assembled in
established the new basis for the political relations of
itlvitliltiit;°Peapan Powers, did then recognise, and, in accordance
Jl
liown„ lies, solemnly declare, that the branch of commerce
irt„uY the name of the African Slave Trade had by the
LPare,f`r and enli litened of all times beenjustly regarded pub-
et'liie the pringeiples of philanthropy and the laws of lic
Ides Y. and that nothing but the peculiar circumstances
l'app 'which this trade originated, and the difficulty of
lid, ee_leta4:ll4 it without preparatory measures, could have
4„tintl, In a eartain degree, as an apology for
.the
' -nee of 041. s a traffic
114_ th,, so len All the sovereigns
Lye thr.
,who signed the treaty of Paris, May 18 (30), 1814,
• 4 411 Made it their duty to eo.operate in common, and
,:rfAe on Means in their power, for the suppression of th!s
etlest 411 points of the earth. Notwithstanding their
ve, h 'eh for the attainment of an object so important, they
jt,,,ll,act:wreyer. for the sake of the interests of their respective
Cites fle'rurn deference to existing usages, and even to pre-
itatic• eIAY rooted for aenturies, refrained from attempting,
t 4.44 it to determine the time when each Power would
tade. rratble and convenient formally to prohibit the slave
t better to leave the final fixation of that period to
' k:_Rotiations between the Courts.
;jean prgoele. the issuing of this declaration the slave trade has
I,4l4,"::::alekht rte .11,14 ajesties
by almost all the nations of Europe and Ame-
11t'74 th • PreE•ent especial treaty has been conlluded between
the Emperor of Austria, the King of
42144.71? the Queen of Great Britain, and the King of
,ptedi• "'th respect to the most effectual measures to be
~to By 4: Preventing the secret prosecution of the said trade.
s,tansi., a treaty it is determined not merely to prohibit (or
-sej• the . . .
, tit lb Prohibition) the respective subjects of the. con-
hhiession3fters from carrying on the slave trade within the
°r under the flags, of the said Powers, or by cap.i
Esci re' to participate therein, directly or indirectly,
tto:.ahLatever • 'but it is moreover provided that every at-
-I.eCval- tteue.,, renewal or prosecution of that trade shall be held
JieLtßEdnihThtbe crime of piracy, and that all vessels therein
e,"11'011e-au forfeit every right of protection which the flags
.11•11. of. the contracting Powers might otherwise secure to
‘kpeer tivtra•faanctioned all the dispositions of the said treaty,
'l%;)itig‘..,-"at henceforth every individual legally convicted of
the slave trade, or either directly or indirectly in
ia,ligheipating therein, shall be sent before the legal
tirksiklit prraWee liable to the punishment prescribed by our
§ttir
eits echoic Senate will take care to provide the neces-
ilrea for the execution of this ukase.
4 Altk
pel "NICHOLAS.
ersburgh, March 26 (April 7), 1842."
_
,41 MAYNOOTII.—WouId the Evening
64 Soliciter Jackson, and the ranting, rearing
and the Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench
'.lc-stow.,`"tdry other persons, it is needless to name, just
`..-\....1'1441471)ehrea t";ee; like, to be let into a secret ? They are all
allynoota—not Trash Gregg more decidedly so.
~yt,,.Q4ve them affect to be "constituted authorities,"
,Vth 1 voice potential in matters of the kind. Well, then
tleto
.e,Y believe it? There has been a distinct intimation
A-7th %.,..I.u.a Irish Catholic Bishops, that the grant to May-
,iN4ld. be heateda this year, but for the financial ern-
:et-114e prA4 °f country—and there has been no very
Rai,_% -nuse made, under the asnetion, as we are assured,
N'eshei:';Me Minister, that should he remain in power, the
th* bet the his most liberal consideration in the year 1843.
o_rter.
..vening Mail to make inquiries in the proper
~/3:6l.tirrnish its gentle and bewildered public with the
t 4 410111, n Evening Post.
Intl;
11, Your attenti JUNI; 20,—Permit me
on to one of those domestic tragedies, which,
.%,47.441 'Y now and then occur to harrow up the feelings of
Tag Glace
and to awaken us
Ti_iplace on Friday, tea small village on the south side
',pout three miles from Lisbon :—A labouring
.):1111:114_,' fowith rtriathhAte b^y, four years of age, left his home in the
P°rPOser of digging potatoes, large quantities
PIT 4 are grown
‘4l. the • upon the sandy soil which characterises
*hi . Lountry.
; lamentable fatality, the heavy
kr u, , made Ilse of by the pas here, descendeil
t„tht Z_,llead of the child, and killed it. The father, frantic
h7,7lol.‘ts'„Zitrlt,wtitit to communicate the sad tidings to his
kNI."I 'Cr boars agony, rushed nut of the house, accompa-
ietP, ltig a • and, to bear home the dead body of. their son,.
tir want a,,„
el., ~when,
en ,in the cradle. Judge of their renewed
ititvtuevoured b their retisrn, they beheld their second child
''seeding Y a sow, which wks dragging it about the
erupon its entrails. The mother soddenly.disap-
‘, 4!' her corpse was discovered the following mornmg, in
iht_ tt:nfl he premises. To complete this appalling ea-
-146.-`l)osne ',man, whose existence had become too dreadful
Plaati the muzzle of a gun to his throat, and ter-
ZitaZ.,ll-thlZllibtkeeee:ala indiedehtp.oit Thus,
ithien
,_
en'
been
a nfge a short a hour;, wholehtci,
;1144 115:1. all the place into the deepest consternation, as he
tar his exemplary exemplary conduct and kindness to-