668 PARTURITION. 
which could not poffibly be followed, and which (hows 
that the writer had never praClifed the art. The fame 
cenfure may be parted upon almolt every regulation that 
had been hitherto promulgated on the fubjeCt; nearly 
all of them tending rather to mirtead than to inform the 
practitioner, and to increafe rather than diminifh the 
pain, difficulty, and danger, of the labour. 
We have two tranflations of Rhodion’s book into our 
language. The firft by Richard Jones,' who dedicated it 
to Katherine, queen to Henry VIII. It was printed-in 
the year 1540 ; and is decorated or illuftrated with fome 
indifferent engravings on copper, which, however, are 
efteemed, as being the firft: fpecimens of the kind exe¬ 
cuted in this country. In 1545, Thomas Raynold, phy- 
fician, publifhed a fecond tranflation. This has parted 
through feveral editions, under the title of “The Byrth 
of Mankynd, or the Woman’s Booke ;” and was nearly 
the only manual ufed by the midwives until the year 
1634, when all the works of Ambrofe Pare W'ere tranflated 
into one volume. 
In the year 1688, Francis Mauriceau, after an exten- 
five praftice for feveral years, in the Hotel Dieu and city 
of Paris, publifhed a Treatife on Midwifery, which ex¬ 
ceeded every thing before made public on that fubjeCt. 
He deferibes the bones of the pelvis, and all the parts 
fubfervient to generation; the difeafes incident to preg¬ 
nant women, with the methods of prevention and cure; 
and, after having given a full and diftinCl account of all 
the different labours, and the wayofdeliveringin each cafe, 
concludes his work with the difeafes of women and chil¬ 
dren. His method of praClice was nearly the fame with 
that of Pare and Guillemeau ; but he is much fuller than 
either. In laborious cafes, when the head prefents, and 
cannot be delivered by the labour-pains, he orders a 
fillet, or ftripe of linen, to be flit in the middle, and 
flipped over the head : this contrivance hath fince been 
improved with laces, by which it is contracted on the 
head. It is introduced by three different inftruments, 
fixed with a great deal of trouble, and, after all, of very 
little ufe. He alfo invented a tire-tete , which cannot be 
applied until the fkull is opened with a knife; confe- 
quentlycan be of no fervice in faving the child: and, 
granting the feetus to be dead, other methods are much 
more effectual. He was ignorant of the forceps. When 
the head is left in the uterus, he advifes us to extraCt it, 
by introducing over it a broad fillet, like a fling. In 
1706, he publifhed a fecond volume, containing about 
8co obfervations. But, long before that period, he had 
gained fuch reputation by his writings, as encouraged 
others of the fame nation to write on the fame fubjeCt : 
accordingly, we have the w'orks of Portal,. Peu, and 
Dionis; but all of them fall fhort of Mauriceau. About 
this time alfo, Saviard wrote feveral obfervations on the 
fame art. 
Cotemporary with Mauriceau were Dr. Chamberlen 
and his three fons, who praCtifed in London with great 
reputation. One of thefe three fons, father to the late 
Dr. Hugh Chamberlen, tranflated the firft volume of 
Mauriceau intoEnglifh ; and, in the preface to the tranf¬ 
lation, Dr. Chamberlen announces an invention, “ known 
only,” lie fays, “to his father, brothers, and himfelf, 
with which they were enabled to terminate the 1110ft dif¬ 
ficult labours, without injuring either the mothers or 
the children.” Though he gives no intimation by which 
it could be difeovered what were the means ufed for the 
purpofe, yet it was in time found out to be the forceps. 
The merit of the invention confifted in making the blades 
of the inftrument feparable, and capable of being locked, 
or united together, after being introduced into the va¬ 
gina, and placed one on each fide of the head of the 
child : a moft invaluable difeovery, and which has de¬ 
fer! edly immortalized the inventor. But heat firft very 
much overrated their power, imagining that they were 
applicable in all cafes, where the head of the child was 
enclavtc, or fixed in the pelvis; not having met with a 
cafe, we may fuppofe, where the bones forming that ca¬ 
vity were confiderably diftorted. Accordingly he under¬ 
took to-deliver a woman whofe pelvis was fo contracted 
and narrow as to render it .importable that the head of a 
full-grown feetus (hould pafs through it undiminifhed. 
The operation, or trial, which was performed at Paris., 
where he v'ent with the view of feiling.his fecret, failed. 
Mortified at the check he received, he left the country, 
and went to Amfterdam, where he is faid to have fold 
the fecret to Roonhuyfen, a furgeon in great praClice in 
that city, who has the credit of having invented the le¬ 
ver which bears his name. 
Dr. Denman, in the preface to his Midwifery, has 
given fome extraCls from a curious MS. written by Dr. 
Percival Willughby, who lived at Derby, and afterwards 
in London ; which will give the reader fome idea of the 
praftice of that time, many of the cafes being dated from 
1640 to 1670. This work is entirely practical, and was 
intended to be publifhed for the ufe of midwives, there 
being a title-page, and two copies with .variations. His 
preface is in this manner : 
“ I haue read many bookes, with all the late writers in 
midwifery, and I do perceiue that they all followe one 
common roaae, taking their feueral fcheemes and figures 
one from another. In feueral of thefe fcheemes uarious 
things may be perceiued which will be troublefome to 
the labouring woman, which a judicious praCticioner will 
not followe. Let midwiues mark whatt hath been writ¬ 
ten in my obferuations, let them confider diligently the 
feuerall reportes not faigned, or the furmifed thoughtes, 
nuCtors, or man’s fantafie, fitting and meditating in his 
ftudye, but which really haue been performed in the 
trauailing woman’s chambre. From mine and their di¬ 
rections let midwiues choofe the belt and facileft waies of 
relieuing women in affliction; and to decide all difputes 
let reafon be the judge, let experience argue the dubious 
points of praCtice; and, after a full debate, let unfpot- 
ted truth recorde to fucceedinge times what is moft fitt 
to be followed and ufed, &c.” 
This is a fpecimen of his illuftration. “ Let midwiues 
obferue the waies and proceedinges of nature for the pro¬ 
duction of her fruit on trees, or the ripening of wal- 
nutts and almondes, from theire firft knotting to the 
opening of the hufkes and falling of the nutt ; the green, 
liulkes (ticking fo clofe that it is not poflible to feparate 
the hulke from the (hell, whilelt it is unripe ; but as the 
fruite ripeneth the hulke choppeth, and with a fiffure 
openeth, and by degrees feparateth the fruite without 
any enforcement. An egge reprefenteth the wombe: 
now the henne with keeping the egge warme doth breed 
the chicken, which when it comes to maturitie doth chip 
the (hell, and is by degrees hatched without injtirie. 
Thefe fignatures may teach widwiues patience, and per- 
fuade them to let nature alone to performe her owne 
worke, and not to difquiet women by their ftrugglings; 
for fuch enforcements rather hinder the birthe than any 
waie promote it, and oft ruinate the mother and ufuaily 
the childe; and let midwiues knowe that they bee na¬ 
tures (eruantes, &c.” 
Willugnby’s praClice is very little different from that 
of the prelent time. He divides labours into two kinds 
only, natural and unnatural. It appears, that this Dr. 
Willughby was one of the fix fons of fir Percival Wil¬ 
lughby, and grandfon of fir Francis, fo famous in the 
time of queen Elizabeth. 
About this time flourilhed Nicholas Culpeper, a wri¬ 
ter very much admired by the common people. He was 
the fon of Nicholas Culpeper, a clergyman, and grand¬ 
fon of fir Thomas Culpeper, bart. He was for fome time 
a ftudent of the univerfity of Cambridge ; and foon after 
was bound apprentice to an apothecary, under whom he 
acquired a competent knowledge of tlie materia medica, 
and of the art of preparing and compounding medicines; 
but he employed all his leilure hours in adding to the 
ftudy of phyfic that of aftrology, both which he after¬ 
wards 
