102 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



spirit till the lining of his throat has no more sen- 

 sibility than the lining of a copper-kettle, let him 

 desist for a few months, and it will be restored. 

 If a man have fed on highly-seasoned soups, piquant 

 ragouts, and other French abominations, until he 

 can discover no flavour in dry bread, let him bo 

 sent to Brixton tread-mill for a month, and he will 

 discover that a penny-loaf is a delicious morsel. 

 But I need not multiply instances; your own re- 

 collection will furnish you with abundant proofs, 

 that the way to restore impaired sensibility is to 

 allow it to remain for a time unstimulated. 



Another peculiarity of general sensibility is, that 

 it can be accumulated in one organ drawn from 

 all oilier parts of the body, and concentered, as it 

 were, in one. The insensibility of pain (I mean, 

 of course, comparatively} which madmen possess, is 

 well known ; and several remarkable proofs of this 

 are given by Dr. Hibbert, in his " Philosophy of 

 Apparitions" a book which you, and every one 

 else, ought to read. We know, too, that persons 

 under the influence of engrossing attention may be 

 spoken to, and even pulled by the skirt " plucked 

 by the ear," as Horace says without their perceiv- 

 ing it. There are irresistible proofs of this to 

 be drawn from natural history but it would be 



