INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 6$ 



tell us alfo, where he learned to ridicule the 

 . idea of removing corns and warts, by a courfe 

 of purgatives and diuretics. Bracken alfo 

 laughed at it. I own that I here entirely 

 aoree with Mr. Taplin, in his " verification of 

 an obfervation," — that it is a paltry practice in 

 authors, to fwell their writings at the expence 

 of a reader's underftanding, ' as well as his 

 purfe. A very few lines would have con- 

 tained all he apparently knew, or could have 

 laid with propriety, on the fubjecl of fplents 

 and fpavins. On the head of wind-galls, Mr. 

 Taplin is evidently reafoning (perhaps plaufi- 

 bly enough) on the experience of others; to 

 be fatisfied of this, let the reader refer to Gib- 

 fon and Bartlet. 



I had palled the two chapters on lamenefs 

 and (trains, unnoticed, on which the ideas in 

 general are rational, and judiciouily enough 

 felefted from the belt authorities, but for the 

 defire of remarking a very fingular pofjtion of 

 the author. On the opinion of Ofmer, that ten- 

 dons are inelaftic bodies, Mr. Taplin fagely 

 obferves, " How this writer or his readers 

 could reconcile fuch palpable abfurdity and 

 contradiction, I am at a lofs to conceive; or 

 how a tendon can be elongated, that has no 

 elafticity, I am yet to learn." However fond 

 of hard words, and wonderfully correcl in 



vol. i. f their 



