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plenty. The fences around the gardens of the villages were very fantastically interwoven with the wreaths of the vine, which would fometimes creep up the trunk of a tree, and fometimes hang over the casements. Nothing can be more delightful than the vine when flourishing in this unbridled wildness of its natural luxuriance, and as if justly fenfible of its beauty, the French cottagers convert it to the double purpofe of ornament or utility. Whilt travelling along, my fpirits frequently felt the cheering influence of the united images of natural beauty and of human happiness. Often have I feen the weary labourer fitting under a funny wall, his head fhaded by the luxuriant branches of the vine, the purple fruit of which furnished him with his fimple meal. Bread and fruit is the conftant fummer dinner of the peafantry of the Loire. Upon this fubject, the general plenty of the country, I should not have forgotten to mention, that in the proper feafon partridges and hares are in great plenty, and being fed on the heath lands of Bretagne and Anjou, are faid to have the beft flavour. An Englishman will fcarcely believe, that whil he is paying 12s. a couple for fowls, half a guinea for a turkey, feven hillings for a goofe, &c. &c.: whilft fuch I fay are the market prices in London, the deareft price in the market of Angers is Jod. a couple for fowls, a fhilling a couple for ducks, 1s. 6d. for a goofe. As to the quality of thefe provifions, the veal and mutton being fed in the meadows on the Loire, are entirely as good as in England; but the beef, not being in general ufe except for foups and ftews, is of a very inferior kind. Wood is the only article which is dear; but an Englishman in this country would doubtlefs rife above the prejudices around him, and burn coal, of which there is a great plenty in every part of France.

"I must not take leave of Angers without mentioning, that it was a favourite ftation of the Romans, who, like the monks, always confulted natural beauty in the feite of the towns and permanent encampments. Many remnants of this people are till vifible: fome of the arches of an aqueduct are yet entire, and without a guide to speak their own origin." P. 141.

The book is dear enough, confidering there is nothing of embellishment, though "a Route never before performed" feemed at least to require fomething of a map or chart. The writer has very often laid himfelf open to critical animadverfion, fometimes by his perfonal vanity, at others for his perpetual gallantries, wherever he met with the petites filles de chambre, at others again for his pompous dilatation on matters of little moment; but we have confidered the book as a mere work of amufement, and as fuch we difmifs it to its fate,

ART.

ART. V. Cafes of Diabetes, Confumption, &c. with Obfervations on the Hiftory and Treatment of Difeafe in General. By Robert Watt, Member of the Faculty of Phyficians and Surgeons, Glafgow. 8vo. 328 pp. Stephen Young, Pailley.

IN N juftification of the novel practice, which we have prefented to us in this work, the author "relies upon the fuccefs of the treatment, and on the judgment of fuch as have ftudied the animal economy, not from fyfiems, but from nature; whofe conclufions are not the dictates of a mafter, but the refult of experience." Now although this is not a very clear paffage, we fo far understand it to imply an intention to confine the obfervations brought forward to practice, and deductions drawn from it folely, that we very readily admitted the apology offered for the early appearance of the work; and as we proceeded, we were much pleafed with the boldness, ingenuity, and novelty of many of the obfervations; but more particularly with the accuracy dif played in the detail of the cafes, upon which Mr. Watt has refted the propriety of the practice which he recommends. We were, however, not a little furprised to find upon further examination, that much of what we had admired, as the reafoning of an acute mind, upon facts as they prefented themfelves, was the mere offspring of one of thofe phantoms of the brain, one of thofe attempts to fyftematize, into which, it is fingular enough, almost all men of ingenuity appear to fall; however much they may be convinced of their fallacy, however folemnly they may declare their fixed determination to avoid them.

We have feldom indeed met with a book which contains more acute obfervation, united with fo much fanciful fpeculation. The difeafe which Mr. Watt has felected to illuftrate his hypothefis is diabetes, and his remarks upon the phenomena of this difeafe, and his deductions from them both practical and theoretical, are interwoven in a very able and impreffive manner, with a detailed narrative of five cafes. It is this part of the work which we deem peculiarly interefting and valuable; and while we muft hefitate to adopt with confidence a practice fo diametrically oppofite to the experience and opinions of all who have hitherto engaged themfelves in the confideration of the fubject, we muit acknowledge that we are much ftruck with the force of many of his arguments, and ftill more fo with the uniformly happy refult of his practice. After the minute and diflinct view he has given us of the immediate effects, and ultimate confequences

fequences of the bold practice he adopted in the cafes he has particularly inftanced; cafes which, intrinfically, we will venture to pronounce, vouch for their accuracy; we should deem ourselves highly culpable, fhould we not recommend, in the most earneft manner, the cautious profecution of the investigation, which Mr. Watt has with fuch ability commenced. Improvement in fcience in general has been much forwarded by affiduous efforts to eftablifh hypotheses, that have feldom outlived the birth-pangs of the difcoveries which they have been the means of bringing forth. To the obftinate determination of the alchymifts to find out the philofophers' ftone, we are indebted for the wonderful discoveries that have been made in chemiftry; and to the keen profecution of various favourite hypothefes, we are equally indebted for much of the modern improvement made in the fcience of medicine. We wifh, however, that experimentalifts upon the human frame could always retain in their recollection, that it is not quite fo much the fubject for fpeculative experiment as gold, and filver; or earths and alkalies: and that nothing but a conviction of the inadequacy of the means we derive from experience, can authorize our deviating from the rules it has generally prefcribed, in the profecution of any of our fpeculations. Mr. Watt's efforts, however, were commenced with caution, and boldly purfued, only as experience furnished him with convincing proofs of the beneficial effects likely to refult from them, and therefore, however daring the attempt may appear, we have not to accufe him of having impetuously purfued it.

Notwithstanding the very plaufible theory advanced by Dr. Rollo, with refpect to diabetes, and the partial degree of benefit that appeared to arife, from its being adopted as the only one upon which dependence could be placed, in the treatment of that perplexing difeafe; the advantage has been found by no means fo great in general practice, as at first there certainly appeared reafon to hope: in particular, the trict adherence to an animal diet, employed with a view of deftroying the fupply of faccharine matter, the formation of which to a great extent, creates the most marked characteristic of the difeafe, has been found to be not unfrequently productive of much mischief; while but little progrefs has been made towards effecting the object immediately in view. It was early difcovered to create a tendency to general in flammation, which, after the diabetic fymptoms had been removed, frequently proved fatal; and at other times it did not even appear to poffefs the power of arrefting the disease in its progress.

The

The firft cafe published by Mr. Watt, is one of a complete failure of the plan of cure, founded upon Dr. Rollo's theory, although the ftrongeft efforts were made by the patient to continue a regimen, which he underflood to be" the only means by which his life could be faved." In the fecond cafe, the animal diet was likewife adopted; but early in the progress of it, Mr. Watt obferved, that

"After coughing up fome tough mucus from his throat, in the morning, it was followed by a little blood:" he continues, "this circumftance fuggefted the propriety of taking blood from the arm. I was still further induced to try the experiment, from recollecting that Captain Meredith, on the evening after bloodletting, according to his own expreffionsfelt lighter, cooler, and more cheerful, and had lefs pain in the kidneys.' Befides thefe reafons, former want of fuccefs in treating this formidable difeafe, was a fufficient apology, for trying any probable plan of affording relief." P. 21.

Fourteen ounces of blood were taken, and fuch were the immediate and continued beneficial effects produced by it, that he was determined to profecute the experiment ftill further. Eighteen ounces were taken the next day, and at different intervals, as circumftances appeared to authorize, four other copious bleedings were employed. The patient, in the courfe of 12 days, lof 108 ounces of blood. Although the advantages derived from the four firft bleedings, were tolerably manifeft, yet it was upon the fifth bleeding, the 9th day after the Ift, when "24 ounces” were taken “in a pretty full fiream," that the effect appeared fo evidently, and immediately beneficial. The next day, every fymptom, which had rapidly increafed previoufly to the laft bleeding, to a very alarming degree, as fuddenly vanished.

"It seemed to act like a charm," and Mr. Watt, " was aftonished to find a degree of ftrength and agility to which for many weeks, he (the patient) had been a total stranger."-" He ran fix or feven hundred yards, nearly as faft as he could have done at any former period of his life, and was not fatigued. The painful fenfations in his bowels left him; the powers of virility returned; the gums becane found; the skin soft, and perfpirable; the faliva, the urine, and the alvine difcharge natural; in fix days he returned to his work; in two months he was restored to Ais original ftrength." P. 34 and 61.

The changes obferved to take place in the fate of the blood, during the progrefs of the bleeding, were equally remarkable, and though certainly such as might be suspected

from

from the effects produced, yet widely different from what previous experience would have taught us to look for.

"The blood (at firft) was pretty much the fame, as is generally met with in diabetes, and feemed to agree with the defcription given by Drs. Jobfon and Rollo. Little change took place in the first three bleedings. The fourth, however, was greatly altered. It had become fizy on the top, and on cooling, the craffamentum acquired a confiderable degree of firmnefs. The fifth was remarkably inflamed, the buffy coat was thick, firm, and contracted to the fize of a fhilling. The coagulum had affumed a globular form, and become fo tenacious, that it could. be held out upon the point of a probe. The fixth was ftill firmer, and in addition to former appearances, the ferum had acquired a white milky, or chylous appearance. Thefe changes in the blood were fingular, and unexpected; but I have seen them often fince. I remarked too, that the veins, which, as the patient himself observed, were at firft fmaller than ufual, became more and more turgid, and the blood flowed with greater force every fuc ceffive bleeding." P. 59.

The hiftory of the particulars of this cafe in detail, is extremely fatisfactory, and the obfervations made upon it are very acute, and in many refpects extremely judicious. So far as a fingle cafe can be confidered as authority, it establithes the propriety and utility of venefection in diabetes, to a confiderable extent; at least it fhows that there can be no fufficiently well-grounded averfion from the practice to prevent its being tried in defperate cafes. The fecond, a Mr. C's cafe, however, appears to prove fill further; we fhall therefore give a fhort abftract of it. Mr. C was "of a thin, flender make, middle ftature, dark complexion, and always enjoyed a good state of health," was of fedentary habits, being a ftudent at Glafgow College, and "when much occupied through the week, felt dull and languid towards the end of it. This might be confidered the first fymptom of his approaching diforder. The being deprived of his ufual exercife was generally followed by an attack of difpeptic symptoms, eafily, however, removed by his going into the country, and enjoying exercife in the fresh air having confined himfelf more than ufual, he became weak, peevish, and irritable in his mind, was troubled with fre quent tenefmus, weakness about the joints, and in particular with a "a diftreffing pain rather like that of laffitude, than inflammation, acrofs the region of the kidneys," all of which was gradually followed by diabetic fymptoms, accompanied with an unufually irritable flate of the bladder, which would not fuffer him to retain his urine in any quantity; a variety of other fymptoms were alfo obferved, indicative of a general

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