There  would  appear  to  be  two  conditions  attaching  to  any  novel  practice
in  medicine,  independently  of  the  authority  by  which  it  conies  recom-
mended, that  should  influence  its  title  to  a  fair  trial ;  frst,  the  extent  of
the  anticipated  benefit,  and,  second,  the  degree  of  possible  mischief  attend-
ing its  employment.  Now  the  promised  advantages  of  mesmerism  in
surgical  operations  correspond  with  these  requirements  in  an  eminent
degree.  If  the  statements  be  corroborated,  and  if  insensibihty  caji  be
produced  artificially,  surely  the  immense  acquisition  both  to  operator  and
patient  is  obvious  at  once  ;  and,  according  to  all  the  evidence  that  exists
upon  this  subject,  mischief  very  rarely  follows  the  practice  of  mesmerism
in  the  event  either  of  success  or  of  failure.  **  I  beg  to  state,"  says  Dr.
Esdaile,  "that  I  have  seen  no  bad  consequences  whatever  ensue  from
persons  being  operated  on  in  the  mesmeric  trance.  Cases  have  occurred
in  which  no  pain  was  felt,  even  subsequent  to  the  operation,  and  the
wounds  healed  by  the  first  intention ;  and  in  the  rest  I  have  seen  no
indication  of  any  injurious  consequences  to  the  constitution.  On  the
contrary,  it  appears  to  me  to  have  been  saved,  and  that  less  constitutional
disturbance  has  followed  than  under  ordinary  circumstances.''  If  then
good  is  possibly  to  ensue,  and  mischief  is  but  little  to  be  feared  from  the
experiment^  why  not  candidly  make  it?  Assuredly  experiments  in  thera-
peutics are  constantly  made  on  grounds  far  less  reasonable.  If  a  single
practitioner  of  any  eminence  recommend  some  novel  and  heroic  treatment

XLIV.-XXII.  '13


486  Dr.  EsDAiLE  on  the  Application  of  [Oct.
