Galvanifm. 367 



The following account of fome experlmentson a human 

 fubje6t we copy from the newfpapers : 



" The body of Forfter, who was executed on Monday the 

 17th of January for murder, was conveyed to a houfe not far 

 diftant, where it was fubje^ted to the Galvanic procefs by 

 profeflbr Aldini, under the infpedion of Mr. Keate, Mr. 

 Carpue, and feveral other proleffional gentlemen. M. Aldini 

 fliowed the eminent and fuperior powers of Galvanifm to be 

 far beyond any other ftimulant in nature. On the firft ap- 

 plication of the procefs to the face, the jaw of the deceafed 

 criminal began to quiver, the adjoining mufcles were horribly 

 contorted, and one eye was aftiially opened. In the fubfe- 

 quent part of the procefs, the right hand was raifed and 

 clenched, and the legs and thighs were fet in motion. It 

 appeared to the uninformed part of the by-ftanders as if the 

 wretched man was on the eve of being reftored to life. This, 

 however, was impoffible, as feveral of his friends, who were 

 under the fcaffold, had violently pulled his legs, in order to 

 put a more fpeedy termination to his fufferings. The expe- 

 riment, in fa6l, was of a better ufe and tendency. Its objc6l 

 was to fliow the excitability of the human frame, when this 

 animal ele£lricity is duly applied. In cafes of drowning or 

 fuffocation, it promifcs to be of the utmoft ufe, by reviving 

 the aftion of the lungs, and thereby rekindling the expiring 

 fpark of vitality. In cafes of apoplexy, or diforders of the 

 head, it oflers alfo mofl: encouraging profpefts for the benefit 

 of mankind. The profcfl'or, we underftand, has made ufe of 

 Galvanifm alfo in feveral cafes of infanity, and with complete 

 fuccefs. It is the opinion of the fa'ft medical men, that this 

 difcovery, if rightly managed and duly profecuted, cainiot 

 fail to be of great, and perhaps, as yet, unforefeen utility." 



'I'o render the preceding account more interefting, we fliall 

 relate the following, either new, or not comnionlv known, 

 fads. 



1. Taking the ceflation of excitability to the Galvanic fti- 

 mulus as the criterion of hft;, the heart is not the vltmum 

 but iht primum moricns ; for, while the mufcles of the limbs 

 •were excited to ftrong contraftions for even 7 horns' apparent 

 death by fufpenfion of a hot-blooded animal, the heart was 

 utterly incapable of being excited to a(!'tion, either by api)lying 

 the extremity of the metallic arc to the furface or to the in- 

 terior of this organ. 



a. The lungs were equally inexcitable as the heart. 



3. Not only were the mufcjes, but the fkiii and ccllidar 

 HHMiibrane, excited to aftion by the Galvanic iiiniulus. 



4. The 



