VOL. II.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. f5Q 



,therto practised with good success on brutes, and without any ill consequence 

 upon a man (Arthur Cogan) . The enemies of new discoveries had taken such 

 great pains to publish every where this false report to decry this experiment, 

 that there needed an authentic testimony to undeceive the multitude. If one 

 should undertake to dissipate all the false rumours on this subject, one should 

 never lay aside the pen ; but the best of it is, that men of discretion so much 

 disdain these wild reports, that they listen to them with disgust. And as to me, I 

 was resolved to write no more upon it, until some new experiments should coun- 

 tenance my first conjectures. But your last letters do so civilly engage me to 

 impart to you the secret cabal, practised by some persons to embarrass the his- 

 tory of that madman, that was cured * six months ago by means of transfusion, 

 that I could not omit sending you the sum of what hath hitherto passed upon 

 that subject, expecting mean time what the parliament of Paris, who I believe 

 will be the judges and arbitrators thereof, shall determine. 



You already know, that the transfusion of calf's blood so tempered the ex- 

 cessive heat of the blood of the madman,-^ who for four months had run naked 

 up and down the streets night and day, that he fell asleep two hours after the 

 operation, and that after ten hourg sleep he awakened in his senses, and that he 

 remained in that condition about two months, until the too frequent company 

 of his wife, and his debauches in wine, tobacco, and spirituous liquors, had cast 

 him into a very violent and dangerous fever. 



You may also have heard, that this operation had effects quite contrary' at 

 the same time, and that for one brain cooled thereby, it fired many, forasmuch 

 as by curing the madness of one poor wTctch, it disturbed the wits of many such 

 as aim at nothing, but to signalize themselves by opposing all new discoveries, 

 which themselves are not capable of making. It was indeed but three or four 

 days after this man was recovered, that some malicious spirits began to publish 

 that he died under our hands, and that we had put an end to his extravagancies 

 by putting an end to his life. This first story having been proved to be false, 

 they mended the tale, and were resolved to make people believe he was re- 

 lapsed into his former madness, and even was grown worse than ever. This 

 obliged the first president and many other persons of quality to send for him to 

 their houses, to examine the truth themselves ; who, after they had entertained 

 him awhile, were all satisfied of the good effect of the transfusion, and that 

 those wanted no malice, who reported things so contrary to what they saw with 

 their own eyes. 



These things you may have learned from our formerly printed letters ; but 



* He was not cured. His madness was periodical, and he relapsed. 



+ This tempering of the heat of the patient's blood by tlie blood of the calf, is a strange idea. 



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