JUGGLING. 
(oocc'en traftors were ejnployed. All the five patients, ex¬ 
cept one, affured ns that their pain was relieved, and three 
much benefited, by the firft application of this remedy. 
One felt his knee warmer, and lie could walk much bet¬ 
ter, as he fhowed us with great fatisfaftion. One was 
eafier for nine hours, and till he went to bed, when the 
pain returned. One had a tingling fenfation for two hours. 
The wooden tractors were drawn over the (kin fo as to 
touch it in the JligkteJl manner. Such is the wonderful 
force of the imagination ! Next day, January 8th, the true 
metallic traftors of Perkins were employed exactly in like 
-manner, and with fimilar effects. All the patients were 
'in fome meafure, but not more, relieved by the fecond 
application, except one, who received no benefit from the 
former operation, and who was not a proper fubject for 
the experiment, having no exilting pain, but only itiff'nefs 
in her ankle. They felt (as they fancied) warmth, but 
in no greater degree than on the former day.” Of the 
Imagination as a Caufe and as a Cure of the Diforders of 
the Body, exemplified by fictitious Traylors and epidemi¬ 
cal Convulfions; by John Haygarth, M. D. F.R.S. &c. 
Bath, 1800. 
Such were the firft experiments attempted with the view 
of afcertainiiig the nature of Perkinifm! But Dr. Hay- 
garth’s pamphlet contained an account of frill more deci- 
live trials made in the Briftol infirmary, by Mr. Smith, 
one of the furgeons to that eftablifliment. This gentle¬ 
man firft operated with two leaden tractors, on Tuefday, 
April 19th, on a patient who had been fome time in the 
infirmary, “with a rheumatic affeftion of the ftioulder, 
which rendered his arm perfectly ufelefs.” In the courfe 
of fix minutes, no other efteft followed the application of 
.thefe pieces of lead than a warmth upon the lkin ; never- 
thelefs the patient informed Mr. Smith, on the following 
day, that “he had received fo much benefit, that it had 
enabled him to lift his hand from his knee, which he had 
in vain feveral times attempted on the Monday evening, 
as the whole ward witnefied.” But, although it was thus 
proved that the patent tractors polfelfed nofpecific powers 
independent of limple metals, he thought it advifeable to 
lay afide metallic points, lefs the proofs might be deemed 
Jefs complete. “ Two pieces of wood properly lhaped and 
painted, were next made ufe of; and, io order to add fo- 
leinnity to the farce, Mr. Barton held in his hand a ftop- 
watcli whilft Mr. Lax minuted the effefts produced. In 
four minutes the man railed his hand feveral inches, and 
he had loft alfo life pain in his ftioulder, ufually expe¬ 
rienced when attempting to lift any thing. He continued 
to undergo the operation daily'', and with progreffive good 
effeft ; for on the 25th he could touch the mantle-piece. 
“ On the 27th,” Mr. Smith continues, “in the prefence of 
Dr. Lovell and Mr. J. P. Noble, two common iron nails, 
dilguifed with fealing-wax, were fubftituted for the pieces 
of mahogany before ufed. In three minutes the fame pa¬ 
tient ‘felt fomething moving from his arm to his hand,’ 
and foon after he touched the Board of Rules, which hung 
a foot above the fire-place. This patient at length lo far 
recovered, that he could carry coals. Sec. and ufe his arm 
fufficiently to afiift the nurfe; yet, previous to the ufe of 
the fpurious traftors, ‘ lie could no more lift hif hand from 
his knee than if a hundred weight were upon it, ora nail 
driven through it,’ as he declared in the prefence of feve¬ 
ral gentlemen, whole names I (hall have frequent occafion 
to mention. The fame of this cafe brought applications in 
abundance; indeed it mult be confeffed, that it was more 
than fufficient to act upon weak minds, and induce a be¬ 
lief that thefe pieces of wood and iron'were endowed with 
fome peculiar virtues.” See Dr. Haygarth’s Pamphlet, p. 8. 
Many other equally ftriking inftances of the curative 
operation of the imagination, when excited by the fliam 
ftraftors, might be quoted from the pamphlet in queltion ; 
but we (ball confine our account to a cafe related by a 
very refpeftable furgeon, then a ftuderrt at Edinburgh, 
who was defirous of being-convinced, by perfonal expe¬ 
rience, of the truth of his fuggeftion,. Having procured 
499 
two pieces of ftick, painted both of a leaden colour, him- 
felf and friend operated upon three or four individuals in 
various painful complaints. A fervant girl, afflicted with 
a moft acute head-ache, which the declared had rendered 
her nights altogether reftlefs for nearly a fortnight, readily 
fubmitted to thefe potent elePlricai inftruments, as we called 
them. We moved them about near the forehead, never 
touching her ; and in four minutes fire faid Are felt a fenfa- 
tion of a tranfient chillinels in the head; in a minute or 
two more, (he felt as if cold water was running down the 
temples, and the pain was fomewhat diminifhed 5 but in 
the fpace of ten minutes fhe declared that the head-ache 
was entirely gone. On the following day, fhe came to 
thank us for the good fleep which fhe had enjoyed through 
the night, and then continued free from head-ache; but 
we underftood in a few days fhe fuffered a flight return 
of it. In the other cafes fome relief was afforded, but not 
fo marked as in this ; they were, indeed, of an iniiammaL 
tory nature, and lefs likely to be fpeedily cured, 
“ The Efficacy of Perkins’s Patent Metallic Traftors,” 
publifhed in the year 1800, was a very feeble endeavour 
to repel the objections urged by Dr. Haygarth and others 
againft the influence of the metallic tractors. Had we not 
been previoully convinced of the falfity of Perkinifm, the 
perufal of this pamphlet would have removed from our 
minds every doubt; for we will venture to fay, that it is 
not in the power of Dr. Haygarth, and the whole faculty- 
united, to bring more complete proof than Mr. Perkins 
has here brought, that' what he calls his father's difeovery 
has no claim to rank otherwife than with the difeovery of 
Mefmer. He gives indeed 250 cafes, which are attefted to 
have been fuccefsfully treated by the traders; but at leaft 
an equal number of cafes were attefted to have been fuc¬ 
cefsfully treated by Mefmer and his partifans ; and fix tiinea- 
that number of cures were faid to have been- miraculoufly 
performed at the tomb of the abbe Paris. We would wil¬ 
lingly allow, however, that thefe atteftations ought to draw 
the attention of men of fcience to the fubject, did not the 
author himfelf betray a want of confidence in the traftors, 
by his own arguments in their favour, and by his caution 
to the public againft counterfeits . He feems indeed to con- 
fider their fanative influence as refulting entirely from his 
patent! 
Dr. Haygarth having faid that he performed cures of the 
fame kind with thole, of which Mr. Perkins boafts by the 
proper application of traftors made of wood ; and having 
added, that “ if any perfon would repeat thefe experiments', 
it (hould be done with due folemnity,” in order to work 
upon the imagination ; our author replies, by putting the 
following queltion : “ Is there a Angle poffeU'or of the pa. 
tent metallic traftors in England, who has frequently ufed 
them, and will fay that this fraud is neceffary to mak .cthem 
perform cures Inftead of anfwering for the Englilh pof- 
felfors of thefe valuable inftruments, we beg leave, in our 
turn, to afk, if there be a fingle expert chemift in Great 
Britain who can underftand this quett'ion in any other felife, 
than as implying that the virtue of the traftors refides in 
the patent ? This, however, appears ftiil more palpable in 
the caution to the public. 
“ Among the various artifices (fays Mr. Perkins) which 
have been employed by certain interelfed perfons, I have 
to" mention the mean attempt to circulate falfe tradlors., and 
from the failure of thefe to throw difcred'it upon the dif¬ 
eovery. Three inftances of this kind have occurred lately. 
Complaints having been made to me that my traftors would 
not cure the difeafes for which they are recommended, I 
was led to make inquiry refpefting the cafes alluded to ^ 
-and, conceiving them fit fubjefts for the traftors, I called 
on the patients to apply them myfelf. In both inftances 
(it was juft now in three inftances) I found they bad been, 
qfi rig counterfeit traftors. Had not this been difeovered, the 
merit of the patent traftors mull have fuffered extremely !” 
This is very extraordinay. The charaRcr or famed any; 
thing may indeed be injured by a counterfeit; but we be¬ 
lieve this is the firft inftance of the merit . 01 demerit of ene¬ 
ma iriiirat a 
