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Art. 24. An Answer to a very extraordinary North-Briton; pub−, · lifhed on Monday laft, in the Publick Advertiser,

A flimfy attack on the Ins.

MEDICA L.

Art. 25. The Midwife's Pocket-companion or a Practical Treatife. on Midwifery: on a new Plan: containing full and plain Directions for the Management and Delivery of Child-bearing Women in the different Cafes, and the Cure of the feveral Difeafes incident to them and new-born Children, in the fafeft Manner, and according to the best Improvements. Adapted to the Ufe of the Female as well as the Male Practitioner in that Art. In Three Parts. By John Memis, M. D. of Marishal-college, Aberdeen. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Dilly.

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This work is offered to the public, as a cheap abridgement of the modern improvements in the art of midwifery; and is defigned at once to answer the purpose of a text-book, and the midwife's vade mecum. As a text-book, it might have been more fimple, more concentrated; and as an abridgement, it is in fome places very diffufe and unweildy, A quotation from the work itself, when compared with the original as it ftands in Dr. Smellie, will convince our Readers of the truth of this obfervation. Dr. Smellie, to whom our Author is chiefly indebted for his materials, thus fpeaks of the evacuations neceffary at the end of the month after delivery: Thofe who have had a fufficient discharge of the lochia, plenty of milk, and fuckle their own children, commonly recover with eafe; and as the fuperfluous fluids of the body are drained off at the nipples, feldom require evacuations at the end of the month: but, if there are any complaints from fullness, fuch as pains and stitches, after the twentieth day, fome blood ought to be taken from the arm, and the belly gently opened by frequent glyfters, or repeated dofes of laxative medicines.

If the patient has tolerably recovered, the milk having been at first fucked or difcharged from the nipples, and afterwards difcuffed; no evacuations are neceffary before the third or fourth week; and fometimes not till after the first flowing of the menfes, which commonly happens about the fifth week: if they do not appear within that time, gentle evacuations must be prefcribed to carry off the plethora, and bring down the catamenia. This the original:-here follows our Author's correct, concife, and judicious abridgement.

Lastly, p. 84, in order to the woman's complete recovery, we fometimes prefcribe a few purges, as that of fena-leaves taken by way of tea, ka'f a drachm of powder of jalap and salt petre, mixed and taken in a draught of weak ale or water-gruel warm†; or a purging draught made up of half an ounce of tamarinds, a quarter of an ounce of fena,

Vide Smellie's Treatife on the Theory and Practice of Midwifery, B. iv. Ch. i. Sect. 2.

+ Our Author, furely, if he writes from experience, muft have pracupon very robuft females,

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and half a quarter of an ounce of cream of tartar, boiled in four ounces or a gill of water to two, and diffolving a quarter of an ounce of manna, and as much glauber falts when trained and warm, making it stronger or weaker as the patient requires, and giving them once or twice a week accordingly, in the morning fafting, to purge any fuperfluous humours out of the body that may remain at the end of the month after her delivery.

Thofe women, who have their cleanfings in fufficient quantity, and of long enough ftanding, and have plenty of milk, and fuckle their own children, commonly recover well without any purgatives or other medicines, the humours being drained off that way, especially at the nipples. Yet, if there should be any complaints after the twentieth day, it will be neceffary to give fome of the purges above-mentioned, after taking firft away a little blood with the lancet.

If a woman has pretty well recovered, the milk having been fucked or difcharged from the nipples, and afterwards difcuffed, (fee Part ii. Chap ii. Article 4.) no purging of any kind is needful before the third or fourth week; fometimes not till after the first flowing of her courses, which is commonly about the fifth week, when, if they do not come down of themselves, we bleed her in the arm or ancle, and give her fome of the above purges, or twenty grains of jalap powder, with eight grains of feet mercury, the fame way every now and then to promote that discharge, &c.'- -So much for our Author's work as a text-book, and abridgment.

With regard to the merits of this performance, as particularly fitted to be the Midwife's Packet-companion, we apprehend our Author has fome formidable rivals,- Among others, we may mention Eucharius Rhodion, who practifed phyfic at Frankfort on the Maine, and publifhed a book on the fubject of midwifery, in High Dutch; this work, about the year 1530, was tranflated into Latin, French, Spanish, and other languages, and was very well received as the woman's book all over Europe.Of a much later date, and inferior character, are the labours of Salmon and Culpepper: to the first of thefe has been attributed a piece called Ariftotle's Midwifery; and the latter published a book in-. titled, A Directory for Midwives, by Nicholas Culpepper, Gentleman, Student in Phyfick and Aftronomy.Thefe curious performances were for. many years in great vogue with the midwives, are still read by the lower fort of practitioners, and have contributed to keep up the belief of the marvellous effects of various medicines, and the more marvellous effects of various fpells and charms.With rivals of fuch different degrees of merit, we pretend not to determine how far our Author is likely to fuc-. ceed as the woman's man; as we are not fufficiently acquainted with the tafte, genius, and philofophy of thofe refpectable dames, who make up the feveral claffes of female practitioners in thefe days.

Our Author feems to expect fome fingular advantages, from having introduced English names and English terms, instead of those which have long been in ufe from the dead languages. We have, fays he, changed the terms of art used in medical books for others of the fame im⚫port, but more familiar to midwives; and, frequently, the more uncommon words, which occur in all kinds of books, for more plain and intelligible expreffions.'But English terms will not be undertood, except the correfponding parts be pointed out upon the Subject;

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and with this affiftance, the old terms, or indeed any terms, are eafi'y understood, though not perhaps so easily remembered: the remembrance of terms, however, is chiefly for the ufes of writing or converfation; the remembrance of things is the matter of principal importance: and there is one inconvenience to which our Author's followers will be fubject; he has not pointed out the old terms which answer to his English names, confequently they will in their reading be limited to The Midwife's Packet companion.

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Upon the whole, we think this work but an indifferent abridgment of what has been more fully and clearly delivered by Smellie, Levret, and others. As to the language, it is frequently very pompous, very uncouth. We afe the widening force of our hand :—our hand outwardly and arifully applied: :-our thumbs to the bind-bead :—our other hand ::—we shift hands : -our fore and middle fingers to each fide of the neck :—we thrust our fingers-we feratch it with our nails :—the nails of our fingers :—we pinch it with the nails of our thumb and fingers. What a buftle have we here, with our thrafting, our widening, our fcratching, our pinching! and what an importance, with our arms, our hands, our fingers, our thumbs, our nails!-Nature certainly has been particularly kind to our Author, and bestowed upon him more arms, and hands, and fingers, and thumbs, and nails, than his neighbours !-Who would have thought, that, with all this fuperabundant dignity, our Author could have been any thing less than an M. D.!- Who would not have thought, that he had been doubly dubbed!

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An Advertisement appeared in the London Chronicle for the 9th of May last, fignifying, That Jobu Memis has no degree of medicine from the Marishal-college, Aberdeen; and that, when he lately made application for a degree, it was abfolutely and unanimously refufed by the univerfity. We could not but be furprized at fuch an attempt to impofe upon the public; efpecially as the real, intrinfic merit of this performance was precifely the fame, whether written by John Memis, Surgeon, and Man-midwife :-or by John Memis, M. D. of the Marifchal-college, Aberdeen.'

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Art. 26. A New Efay on the Venereal Difeafe, and Methods of Cure; accounting for the Nature, Caufe, and Symptoms of that Malady. By J. Becket, M. D. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Williams.

It hath been objected to the reviewers in general, that they often criticize without mercy; that they are not fufficiently tender of the reputation of the Authors under their lafh; and that their pens fometimes feem guided rather by their paffions than their judgment. We acknowledge a philofophical equanimity to be a proper ingredient in the character of a Reviewer; but thofe who have cenfured us for the want of this virtue, would do well to confider a moment, whether they believe it poffible for any man to read all the trash which is obtruded upon the public without being now and then a little provoked, and put out of humour? When we meet with a performance, every page of which difcovers its author to be, not only ignorant of his fubject, but illiterate, and deficient even in point of grammar; when we find the hand-bill of a C-p-Doctor coarfely fpun into a half crown book, with the two re

fpectable

fpectable letters M. D. in the title-page; when this is the cafe, we are firmly of opinion that Job himself, if he had been a reviewer, would fometimes have given way to a little honeft refentment: exclaiming, as he did to his officious friends, Ye are forgers of lies, ye are physicians of no value ! Chap. xiii. v. 4.

Art. 27. Medicina Politica: Or, Reflections on the Art of Phyfic, as infeparably connected with the Profperity of a State. By Charles Collignon, M. D. Profeffor of Anatomy at Cambridge. 8vo. Is. Beecroft, &c.

This pamphlet, we are informed by the Author in his introduction, is intended as a fupplement to his late Enquiry into the Structure of the Human Body, relative to its fuppofed Influence on the Morals of Mankind, in which it was allowed, that there are certain indifpofitions of the body which tend to generate irregular affections of the mind. On this foundation, fays the Author, generally have bad actions been excufed; but this excufe will be deprived of its palliating power, if any thing can be found capable of removing thofe indifpofitions.' This, Dr. Colignon is of opinion, may be obtained by a proper application of the medical art, the intention of which is to preferve and restore the health of the body. Unfortunately, however, for this doctrine, there are few individuals who could not, from experience, inform our Author, that the body when in perfect health is most inclined to be vicious. But, if we were even to admit, that intemperance, ambition, pride, cruelty, &c. are the effects of a morbid crafis or motion of the blood, the remedy becomes an idle fpeculation, unless phyficians were invested with full power to bleed, purge, blifter, &c. whomfoever they please; for we apprehend that those who are afflicted with pride, cruelty, &c. will feldom, of their own accord, call in a physician to cure them of these diforders.

We muft, however, in juftice to the Author, obferve, that his language is generally pleafing, and that his conclufion is fpirited and important. The following paffage will be fufficient to give an idea of the Author's manner: If health then may be deemed a bleffing of fo diffufive a nature as to affect the manners, as well as the profperity of a people, can we help lamenting that injudicious books, mistaken zeal, and pernicious patents, fhould join their formidable forces to deftroy fo great a good' By injudicious books he means Practices of Phyfic, Difpenfatores, &c. in the vulgar tongue; by mistaken zeal, he alludes to the pious oppofers of inoculation; as to pernicious patents, it requires no explanation.

* See Review, Vol. XXXI. p. 335.

Art. 28. A Letter to J. K, M. D. with an Account of the Cafe of Mr. Tn, of the City of Od. To which are fubjoined fome Obfervations on the Ulcered Sore Throat. By J. S. M.D. Oxford. 8vo. Is. Rivington.

When doctors of Divinity, or doctors of phyfic, fuffer their private animofities to burst forth into print, we cannot help accufing them, in general, of having facrificed to refentment that dignity, honour and in

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tereft of their refpective profeffions, which prudent men have been ever careful to fupport. We acknowledge, nevertheless, that there are particular cafes which not only admit but require a public vindication. Dr. S begins this pamphlet with the copy of a letter, written by him to Dr. K about two months ago, in which he accufes him of having violently afperfed his character both as a physician and a man. To this letter he received no answer; which, by the known laws of decorum, he had certainly a right to expect; unless Dr. K―― had reasons for his filence, with which the public are unacquainted.

The nature of the difpute between thefe two phyficians is briefly this: They both attended a patient dangeroufly ill of a fever and fore throat, which Dr. K believed to be merely inflammatory, and Dr. Smalignant, or ulcered. Those who are at all acquainted with phyfic, know, that this difference in opinion was of infinite importance to the patient, as the method of treatment in the first species of this disorder ought to be diametrically oppofite to that in the other. But before we can enter upon the merits of the caufe, it will be neceffary to mention the fymptoms which induced Dr. S to pronounce the disorder a malignant, and not an inflammatory fore throat: viz. a small running pulfe, intense heat and drynefs of the skin, perpetual reftleffness, anxiety, delirium, and floughs on both the tonfils.

With regard to the pulse, though we cannot allow it to afford any infallible diagnotic in this cafe, yet, we confefs its being small rendered it highly probable that the difeafe was not inflammatory, the angina inflammatoria being conflantly attended with a frequent, strong, and fomewhat hard pulfe. The fecond fymptom mentioned, viz. intenfe heat and dryness of the fkin, we cannot admit as pathognomonic. The third chain of fymptoms is, however, of more weight in the balance; but the floughs on the tenfils feem to determine the question. We fay feem to determine, because we do not chufe to give a final opinion, until we have feen a more circumftantial hiftory of the cafe, from the beginning. If we were impowered to interrogate the evidence, we should take the liberty to ask the following questions:

A, Was the patient afflicted with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, in the beginning of the difeafe?

2diy, Did he fwallow without much difficulty? 3aly, Was his breath remarkably offenfive? 4thly, Was there any eruption on the skin ? 5thly, Did he become worfe after bleeding? 6thly, Did he fpeak with a hollow voice? 7thly, Was he weak, and dejected?

8thly, Is he of a relaxed, pituitous habit?

9thly. Did the fauces, upon inspection, appear difcoloured, spotted, or floughy?

orbly, Was the patient delirious on the 2d, 3d, or 4th day of his diforder?

If all, or most of these questions should be answered in the affirmative, it will not be in our power to give it against Dr. S; provided we have no doubt as to the judgment and veracity of the evidence.

Now there have already appeared two witneffes on behalf of the faid Dr. S, plaintiff; namely, Mrs. Tinfon, the patient's wife, and Mir. C. Ward, a furgeon who attended the patient. The first of thesex in

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