586 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1742. 



vapour, would be made specifically heavier than an inch of dry air ; which is 

 contrary to experiments, which show by the barometer, that air which is moist, 

 or full of vapours, is always lighter than dry air. 



Account of Margaret Cutting, a young Woman, at Wickham Market in Suffolk, 

 who speaks readily and intelligibly, though she has lost her Tongue. 

 By Mr. Hejiry Baker, F. R.S. N° 464, p. 143. 



A. brief account of this young woman's case, in a letter from Mr. Benjamin 

 Boddington, of Ipswich, to Mr. Henry Baker, f. r. s. was communicated to 

 the Royal Society in the month of February last, and appeared so extraordinary, 

 that Mr. Baker was desired to make all possible inquiries into the reality of the 

 fact, and lay before the Society what information he should receive on it. 



In pursuance of this, he wrote to Mr. Boddington, requesting him to make 

 the strictest inquiry into this affair, not only by viewing the young woman's 

 mouth, and examining her himself, but also by calling to his assistance some 

 skilful gentleman in the physical way, and any other learned and judicious per- 

 son whom he might judge most likely to contribute towards discovering the real 

 truth, and detecting any error, fallacy, or imposition. He also desired they 

 would heedfuUy observe her manner of speaking and articulating the sounds of 

 those letters and syllables, in the formation of which the apex of the tongue 

 seems more particularly needful: and, in order to render their examination more 

 easy, as well as more satisfactory, he sent a list of letters and sounds, with 

 several such sentences as he imagined would be most difficult to be pronounced 

 without the help of the tongue. 



Mr. Boddington, soon after this prevailed on Mr. Notcutt, a minister, a 

 learned and curious gentleman, and Mr. Hammond, who perfectly understands 

 anatomy, to accompany him to Wickham Market, about 12 miles from Ipswich, 

 where the young woman lives ; whose case, after they had inspected her mouth, 

 and examined her in the strictest manner, is set forth in the following certificate 

 signed by them all. 



Ipsivich, April Q, 1 742. — We have this day been at Wickham Market, to 

 satisfy our curiosity concerning Margaret Cutting, a young woman, who, we 

 were informed, could talk and discourse without a tongue. 



She informed us, that she was now more than 20 years of age, born at 

 Turnstal, a village within 4 miles of Wickham Market in Suffolk, where she 

 lost her tongue by a cancer, being then about 4 years old. It first appeared like 

 a small black speck on the upper superficies of the tongue, and soon eat its way 

 quite to its root. She was under the care of Mr. Scotchmore, a surgeon of 

 Saxmundham, who soon pronounced the case incurable: however, he continued 



