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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/continuationofnaOOrenwrich 
 
THE CONTINUATION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE NARRATIVE 
 
 OP 
 
 CASE, &c. &c. 
 
THE CONTINUATION 
 
 OP 
 
 OF MISS 
 
 MARGARET M'AYOY's CASE. 
 
 WITH 
 
 General Observations upon the Case itself; 
 
 UPON HER 
 Through the Medium of her Fingers ; 
 
 ff^ith Additional Proofs of her Blindness. 
 AND WITH STRICTURES 
 
 Upon Mr. Sandars's Pamphlet, entitled, "Hints to Credulity;" upon the 
 
 Letters of Mr. Egerton Smith, the Editor of the Mercury ; and 
 
 upon the general Conduct of her Opponents towards 
 
 this Suffering Female and her Supporters. 
 
 TO WHICH IS NOW ADDED, 
 
 ^n '^ttonnt oi iht ^jjpeatance:^ upon ISB^cction, 
 
 Takeh from the Report of Robebt Harrison, Esq. A. B. M. R. C. S. L. D, 
 
 one of the Demonstrators of Anatomy, &c. to the School of SUrgery in 
 
 DuhUn. 
 
 One of the Physicians to the Liverpool Infirmary; 
 ** Noh enim mete laudi hie velitor, sed publicae utilitati quoad pos-suni inservio." 
 
 EontJon : 
 
 *rinted for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy; Underwood and Blacks; & J. Callo'.v 
 G, Cruickshank, & W. Grapel, Liverpool ; ^'owler, Manchester ; Constable 
 and Co. and W. Blackwood, Edinburgh ; A. and J. M. Dun?an, 
 Glasgot, j and Cumming, Dublin. - 
 
 1820. 
 
^oncoixege^ 
 ij:brary. 
 
 EMjjjjr.miiii^iwAi.. .Ji< T'" 
 
 SOLO BV oooER OP TBI 
 
 Kicman, Printer, Liverpool. 
 

 'Notice to tje iJutiUc* 
 
 The greater part of thi? book was printed previous to the death of Miss M'Avoy. Eight 
 pages were left for the insertion of the remainder of the case to the end of Jane, tho period 
 of its intended publication ; but the delay in printing it, occasioned a considerable a-ddition , 
 and the reader will observe this addition to commence in the half-sheet marked N* p. 97 to 
 104, and again N** page 97 to 100. 
 
 The reader is requested to correct the following errata, and to supply the accents to the 
 Latin words, where they have been omitted by the printer. 
 
 page. line. 
 
 xii.... 12 Preface, for justfied, read justified. 
 xiv....last line do, for stonger, read stronger 
 xviii. ... 10 ditto, for attemps, read attempts 
 Ivote do. 1 after if, insert any of 
 £. . . . 14 for recieved, read received. 
 
 28 for et read quod. 
 3. .. .5 & 6 for dependence, read dependance 
 522.... 8 for panllulum, read {iiululum. 
 22.... 25 for majis, rend lMai;is 
 23. ...13 after obtained, insert ; 
 14 dele; 
 
 17 dele probably. 
 32.... C5 dele eopl. 
 34....2P for faetla, read foeda. 
 
 4( 17 for Sherwin, read Sherwcn. ' 
 
 44.... 25 dele the blood was. 
 46. ... 4 for leans , read 1 eari 
 
 6 for falls, read fall 
 49.... 12 for urina read urinae. 
 51 .... 17 after disparuit insert full point 
 52. ...31 HOte, for hebdonadem, read hebdo- 
 
 madem. 
 53.... 4 for injestis, read ingestis. 
 64.... 20 for 30th, read 31st. 
 
 24 dele pulsations. 
 
 65. ... 14 for comes, read come. 
 66.... 10 for comes, read come. 
 67. . . .27 for let, read last— and for vertebrae, 
 
 read vertebra. 
 69.... 19 for tnmonr, read tumours. 
 
 25 for and, read having. 
 82.... 13 after apple, read tree 
 83.... 21 for urina, read nrinam. 
 85. ... 12 for misturc , read mixture 
 86. . . .8 for a, read any. 
 
 93.... 3 fori44, real l64 
 103....sheetM*7 for buiscult, read biscuit. 
 20 for minuie, read minute. 
 100.... do. 5 dele it. 
 
 i6 do. dele frequency 
 17 do. dele first and 
 102,,., 29 last line for eum read cum 
 103..., do. 10 for vjn, read via. 
 
 97.... N** 23 for tuit, read fuit. 
 
 98.... do. n for Tinch, read Tinct. 
 300.... do. £3 for by. read to 
 104.... do. 1 read July 3d 
 109. . . . Note, line 7 for Edward, read Israel. 
 110.... 39 for obs;rnsive, road obtrusive. 
 It2....7 for possesses, read possess. 
 115.,,. 3 "Note, lor Edward, read Everard. 
 
 page. line. 
 
 117.... 34 after stimulus, 
 
 11 8.... 7 for know, read known. 
 
 120. . . .4 for surgeon, read apothecary. 
 
 122.... 5 for eye, read eyes. 
 
 131... .28 for enquiry, read inquiry. 
 
 134.... 3 for enquiry, read inquiry. 
 
 138.... 2 after blindness, insert full point. 
 
 141.... 18 for enquiry, read inquiry. 
 
 142.... 1, for enq'iire, read inquire. 
 
 142.... 25, note, for nons, read nous. 
 
 14fi....2 note, for singlee, read single. 
 
 147.... last lir>e^ for Sandar's, read Sandars- 
 
 15 1.... 12, and throughout the work, for 
 Trail, read Traill. 
 
 151.... 28 foi- effected, read affected. 
 
 152. . . .5, note, for connoisances, reael connois- 
 sances. 
 3 & 4 for superogation, read supereroga- 
 tion. 
 7 after voice, add full point. 
 
 153.... 18 after examination, insert comma, & 
 dele into her case. 
 
 154.... 4, note, dele semicolon. 
 
 154..., 23 note, for ilia, read ista. 
 
 167. ... 19, for is, read are. 
 
 175. ...U for R. read B. 
 
 178....20 for compleated, read completed. 
 
 180.... 5, for crowed, read crowded. 
 
 198. .. .9 for were, read was. 
 
 200.... 19 for seperately, read separately. 
 
 20 1.... 6 note, for the, read them. 
 
 202.... 5 after April, insert Dr. Jardiirc. 
 
 205. . . .2 after upon, read taking. 
 
 207..,. 22 read subscriber's. 
 
 219.,.. 27 read occasionally. 
 
 227. . . .26 for silk read velvet. 
 
 235.... 3 for E. read T. 
 
 238. . . .4 for plane, read plain. 
 
 241 .... 1 for at, read on. 
 
 245.... 22 for wonderfulr, read wonderful. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 1....33 after pockets, insert comma 
 21 .... 1 for his, read is, 
 42....18 for vitrious, read vitreous. 
 46. . . .42 for nether, read neither 
 49. . . .23 for othert, read other. 
 52.... 12 after stomach, insert semicolon, 
 52. . . .39 for tumour, read humour 
 56. .. .5 for these, read those 
 57, ., .5 for great, read greater. 
 
 t{i'»'^:i-i.iiri:.^''^^:t< 
 
IP IB IE U" ^ (© IE;» 
 
 About the latter end of the year 1816, the public at- 
 tention was excited by reports of the extraordinary 
 powers of Miss M'Avoy, who, reputed to be blind, was 
 not only capable of reading and sewing, but of distin- 
 guishing colours through the medium of the fingers. The 
 ease with which individuals gained access to this young 
 female, enabled them to judge of the truth or falsehood 
 of the reports in circulation, and they disseminated their 
 opinions far and wide, so as to attract, not only the at- 
 tention of the curious, but of men of science. As 1 had 
 attended Miss M'Avoy during the period when she lost 
 her sight, three months previous to my knowledge of 
 her possessing these powers, and, having minutely exa- 
 mined into the truth of her statement, by making those 
 experiments I deemed satisfactory of her claim to the pos- 
 session of them, I felt it an incumbent duty to give all the 
 information on the. subject which lay in my power. I was 
 induced to do this more particularly from the repeated 
 demands which were made by the different periodical wri- 
 ters for information. In the Narrative I stated the circum- 
 stances which appeared in her favour, as well as those which 
 were against her ; and my intentions before and after the 
 time of printing the Narrative, were repeatedly declared, 
 
 a 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 orpablishiug whatever could be advanced against her 
 by any other person. Her opponents kept to them- 
 selves the proofs they since have given to the public, 
 trntil the Narrative was published, that by seeing the de- 
 tail of experiments made to ascertain the truth, they 
 might be enabled to garble from it, those parts which 
 would give more weight to their assertions. 
 
 The candoyr and fairness of my statement were uni- 
 formly allowed in the first instance even by those critics 
 who afterwards vacillated in their opinions. 
 
 Having no theory to establish on her blindness being 
 proved, and being arrived at that time of life, when new 
 opinions or reputed facts are questioned before they are 
 admitted to be true, I could have no motive in assert- 
 ing Miss M'Avoy to be blind, but the conviction she was 
 so ; and this conviction has cot been produced, in my 
 mind, upon slight grounds, but from the result of expe-* 
 riments made to ascertain the fact, which have been 
 heretofore deemed sufficient to satisfy the Anatomist and 
 Philosopher. Indeed her blindnests was not disputed 
 until the period when it was discovered she possessed the 
 power of distinguishing colours, &c. But when she be- 
 gan to discover colours, by the medium of the fingers, 
 through glass, and objects which were passing or statio- 
 nary in the street, through the same medium, every per- 
 son began to doubt the truth of the assertion; and I 
 doubted, until, by the experiments I made, I found I must 
 believe in the fact, or resist the evidence of my senses. 
 Huitian record had given no proof of powers of this de- 
 scription, and it was very natural for scientific men who 
 had not seen Miss M'Avoy, to give her up as an impos- 
 tor. In the History of Nature, however, cirenmstance.s 
 equally extraordinary have been found to exist ; and 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 those facts, which a century ago would have been thought 
 impossible, have been admitted in the present day. 
 
 Sed neqae tam facUis res ulla est, quin ea primum 
 Diflficilis magis ad credendum constet : itemque 
 Nil adeo magnum,, nee tam mirabile quicquam 
 Principio, quod non minuant mirarier omnes 
 Paullatim ; — 
 
 The uncertain state of Miss M * A voy's health, fora very 
 long period to the present time, which frequently indi- 
 cated a fatal termination, prevented me from publish- 
 ing the continuation of her case, and for the same rea- 
 son I did not think it necessary to enter into any de- 
 fence against the numerous assailants of her integrity, as 
 1 bad only a very few proofs to advance in addition to 
 those already stated in the Narrative, Miss M*Avoy 
 having lost, in a great measure, for nearly the same period 
 of time, the powers which had so much distinguished 
 her. 
 
 I had also a stronger reason for deferring the pub- 
 lication, for, in case of her decease, her friends, in conse- 
 quence of Miss M'Avoy's own request, would have per- 
 mitted her body to be inspected, by which the nature of 
 the disease might have been elucidated, and the fact of 
 her blindness, or the contrary, been proved to the sa- 
 tisfaction of all parties. Had such an event taken 
 place, I should have given another proof, that in this 
 whole affair I have acted under no concealment, but 
 with that openness, impartiality, and wish of investigat- 
 ing the truth, the importance of the case demanded ; for it 
 was my declared intention to have invited, particularly, 
 those persons to be present at this examination, who, 
 without sufficient inquiry, had been most virulent in 
 their assertions of imposture. However gratifying, un- 
 der such an event taking place, the inquiry would have 
 
Viii PREFACE. 
 
 been to me, and to the friends of Truth, I rejoice Miss 
 M *A voy still lives, and although her health is in a most 
 precarious state, I yet hope she may ultimately recover, 
 and that the fact of her blindness may in some other way 
 be clearly ascertained. 
 
 I see no reason why acrimony of language, or a 
 want of forbearance towards those who support the 
 opinion of Miss M*Avoy's blindness, should have 
 been so much excited by her opponents. They have 
 shewn a feeling more indicative of personal pique than of 
 justice to Miss M^Avoy, and in the violence of their op- 
 position, resting upon a very slight evidence, they have 
 brought themselves before the bar of the public, and 
 have in a certain degree, influenced that public to agree 
 with them in opinion. But the advocates of Miss 
 M*Avoy's blindness do not rest their opinion upon slight 
 grounds; they have examined and re-examined it, and 
 they more firmly adhere to that conviction which was 
 impressed upon their minds in a very early stage of the 
 business. The public is in the end however a just judge; 
 it acts from the evidence before it, but, as it does not aU 
 vrays obtain that evidence in the most direct way, it must 
 await the period when the production of facts will do 
 away the prejudice, by which the individual, forming a 
 part of that public, is generally too much actuated. The 
 manner in which this opposition has been carried on, 
 induces me to suppose the grounds upon which Miss 
 M*Avoy's opponents rested their proofs did not convince 
 themselves, at least had a very weak foundation, or they 
 would not have had recourse to those means, which had 
 the effect of suppressing inquiry, and of arresting any 
 evidence in her favour. 
 
 At the period when the public attention had been given 
 to the report of her powers; when the evidence of her 
 
PREFACE. iX. 
 
 possessiug these powers was stronger than that which 
 could be brought against her; when her friends had 
 declared their willingness to allow any examination, 
 which scientific men might wish. What do I find in a 
 periodical publication under the head of A Retrospec- 
 tion of Medical Science, in the London Medical Repo- 
 sitory, for December, 1817, relating to this subject, but 
 the following paragraph : — ' In noticing the physiology 
 ' of vision our readers may expect that we should make 
 ' some observations on the case of Miss M'Avoy, of Li- 
 ' verpool, which was lately brought before the public by 
 ' the Rev. Mr. Glover, and Dr. Renwick. We have 
 ' only to state that, on a visit which Mr. Thomson (one 
 ' of the Editors) made to Liverpool, although he had not 
 ' an opportunity of seeing Miss M*Avoy, yet, from the 
 ' information which he had received from Dr. Traill, Dr. 
 
 * Vose, and several other respectable persons in Liver- 
 
 * pool, able to form a correct judgment on the subject, 
 
 * there is not the least reason for doubting that the whole 
 ' is a gross imposition upon public credulity. This has 
 
 * been clearly pointed out also, in a pamphlet on the sub- 
 
 * ject, written by Mr. Sandars of Liverpool, although the 
 
 * motives that have induced the young Lady to invent, 
 
 * and perform so singular a farce cannot be readily ex* 
 
 * plained.' 
 
 ' This paragraph is not less extraordinary for the injus- 
 tice of the information which it contains, than for the 
 credulity of Mr. Tiionison, to whom I cannot attach any 
 degree of credit, as a man of research, for the purposes 
 of his Repository. It was an easy matter to have made 
 further inquiry before he published this libel upon Miss 
 M'Avoy. I doubt much if he had read the Narrative 
 or he would have seen what opportunities Dr. Traill had 
 of judging of her case; and as Dr. Vose was scarcely 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 mentioned in it, except as a visitor at Waverfree, it might 
 be supposed he had still fewer means of obtaining infor- 
 mation on the subject. Mr. Thomson certainly did not 
 act with the usual prudence of an Editor, in deciding 
 from ea; parte evidence, that imposture existed, and I 
 have no doubt he will regret that, upon a subject of this 
 importance, he depended upon the ipse dixit of any 
 man, when he had the opportunity of judging for 
 himself. 
 
 Some of her opponents have propagated a report as 
 far as their influence extended, that the illness of Miss 
 M'Avoy was even feigned. It is unnecessary for me to 
 refute an assertion of this kind, but it is indeed extraor- 
 dinary, that men of the least respectability of character, 
 dare to pass such an opinion upon the public, when they 
 must be well aware, there is no foundation for it, and 
 when the strongest evidence could be produced to con- 
 tradict it. 
 
 When public opinion could not be entirely preju- 
 diced by the united efforts of a strong party, advanc- 
 ing arguments against her possessing these powers, or 
 in refuting the proofs in her favour, they were induc- 
 ed to change their mode of attack, and, to effect the pur- 
 pose of influencing this opinion, have endeavoured to 
 turn into ridicule, not only the proofs, but the persons 
 who witnessed them. Ridicule is a dangerous weapon 
 in the hands of designing persons, and the fear of being 
 the object of it, will often deter men of good sense from 
 supporting their opinions with proper firmness. How- 
 ever dastardly such conduct may appear to those 
 who will dare to support what they believe to be true, 
 against the united efforts of private pique, party preju- 
 dice, and personal interest; yet, great allowance is to be 
 made for those who are formed in a weaker mold, and 
 
PREFACE. Xi 
 
 whose situation in life prevents them from hazarding the 
 very means of existence, by advocating* the truth against 
 the influence of power. This conduct of Miss M'Avoy's 
 opponents, has however had this influence, and many 
 individuals in Liverpool, who combine the advantages of 
 situation, property, and of ability, have even allowed 
 themselves to be silenced in this way, though convinced 
 of Miss M'Avoy's blindness, and of her having possessed 
 very extraordinary powers. 
 
 " For still the world prevail'd, and its dread laugh 
 *' Which scarce the firm philosopher can acorn." 
 
 As scandal increases by propagation, so have some of 
 Miss M'Avoy's opponents gone still farther, and charg- 
 ed her immediate friends, her late confesssor, Mr. Tho- 
 mas, and me, with conniving at the imposition, but I 
 shall pass over so infamous a charge with the pity it de- 
 serves. It could only have originated in minds which, 
 being really depraved, have more pleasure in looking at 
 the worst, than the best side of human nature, and who, 
 by endeavouring to injure the characters of their neigh- 
 bours, gratify those malignant passions which degrade 
 themselves, but cannot hurt the other parties. The truly 
 good mind will give no weig^ht to aspersions of this na- 
 ture, but the bad will appreciate them as originating in 
 the counter-part of themselves. 
 
 " Qui alterum incusat probri eum ipsum so intueri oportet." 
 
 The plan I pursued in the Narrative has been objected 
 to by individuals who wished for the immediate gratification 
 of their curiosity, because it unites too closely, the medi- 
 cal with the experimental part of the case ; but I think 
 this objection is made without sufficient reason, as the dis- 
 ease Miss M'Avoy labours under, is evidently connected 
 with a peculiar state o the nervous system, which must 
 have given rise to thi.- f faulty of distinguishing cGlours,<fcp. 
 
iXii PREFACE. 
 
 As the symptoms of oppression in her breathing; of the 
 convulsive affection and pain about the region of the 
 heart; and the tumour in her side increased, the powers 
 which had before distinguised her became almost extinct, 
 so that since the 15th of November, 1817, she has been 
 incapable of doing any thing, except sewing, making 
 paper or silk ornaments, and now and then distinguish- 
 ing a metal, naming a colour, or reading a word. Whe- 
 ther upon the removal of these symptoms, this power 
 will return, is a question I cannot determine with any 
 degree of certainly. 
 
 I feel myself justfied, from the consideration of these 
 circumstances, in continuing the detail of the Case in a 
 similar manner to that in the Narrative, that the public 
 may judge for itself. I have also stated those examina- 
 tions more fully, which were mentioned at the end of 
 the Narrative, and the result of other experiments made 
 afterwards. I have been blamed also for making an un- 
 authorized array of names, but the reason of my naming 
 different individuals, who were present at the various 
 examinations which took place^ was simply as a reference 
 to those who had not seen her, for a confirmation of the 
 truth of my statements. 
 
 When I revert to the pains which have been taken to 
 throw obloquy upon this suffering female, I cannot dis- 
 cover why she has become the object of so much virulence. 
 It could not hav-e been derived from her ready compli* 
 ance with the wishes of the public, to examine into the 
 truth of her case ; nor from the mere doubts which have 
 been excited by her opponents that she can see ; nor yet 
 from the uncommon nature of her powders, but from some 
 other motive they may be afraid to own, lest it might incur 
 a suspicion that their opposition was not disinterested* 
 
PREFACE, Xlii 
 
 It is certain that the examination of her opponents, 
 into the truth or falsehood of her statement, has gene- 
 rally been very slight. One or two visits, at times very 
 often when the power became deficient, was the appa- 
 rent cause which induced them to take a decided part 
 against her; and although they heard from other indivi- 
 duals, equally capable of exercising their judgment with 
 themselves, that they had seen her distinguish colours, 
 read, &e. when covered with a mask, and frequently out 
 of the line of vision, or behind her ; and who in a few 
 words declared, at one time she had failed in the trial, 
 and, at ancrther, had succeeded ; yet her opponents 
 took as their guide, the instances of her failure, not the 
 proofs of her success. Having determined to declare her 
 an impostor upon grounds, they must be aware were not 
 tenable, they went no more near her, but endeavoured, 
 by repeating these assertions of imposture, t^ deter other 
 persons who were inclined to visit her, from convincing 
 themselves of the truth or falsehood of their reports. 
 They must have been afraid of the inquiry being pursued, 
 or they would not, by the most unwarrantable insinua- 
 tions, have endeavoured to arrest it, and to blacken the 
 character of an innocent female. 
 
 They have even taken advantage of the circumstance, 
 that I did not answer their illiberal effusions against her, 
 to influence all within their sphere of attraction ; and 
 they have induced some by persuasion, and others by* 
 fear of the consequences of believing in so extraordinary 
 a case, that they must be the only persons who could 
 give a true account, or make a decided experiment ! ! ! 
 
 It is natural enough to doubt in such a case as this, but 
 before gentlemen did express their opinion so positively, 
 they should, at least, have been assured of its correctness. 
 
 b 
 
. XIV PREFACE. 
 
 Credulity is the charge they have made against me and 
 the supporters of Miss M'Avoy's statement; but how 
 have they proved my credulity, or her want of veracity ? 
 Not surely by the very trifling opportunities they had of 
 inquiry! Not from the experiments of Mr. Egerton 
 Smith ! Nor from the hints of Mr. Saridars ! And still less 
 from the evidence of the numerous and respectable in- 
 dividuals who have seen her give decided proofs of her 
 possession of the powers related in the Narrative. 
 
 The opponents of Miss M'Avoy in their eagerness to 
 condemn her, have probably forgotten some material 
 points in the History of Human Nature, or they would 
 have paused before they issued their dogmata upon this 
 curious case. They would have considered the occaii- 
 onal vigour and evanescence of this power, as depending 
 upon other influence than that of deception. They 
 would not have branded Miss M'Avoy as an impostor, if 
 they recollected (hat the energy of any sensation is pro- 
 portioned to the degree of attention the mind may give 
 to the external object which excites it. They would 
 have found also, that this energy is weakened by a re- 
 petition of these sensations, and might, if continued toan 
 extreme degree, be entirely destroyed. Thus it was in 
 Miss M'Avoy's case, for, if she had been fatigued in the 
 exercise of this faculty to too great a degree, she lost the 
 power, but again recovered it, when she desisted for a time 
 ^from distinguishing colours, reading, &c. Any agitation 
 or uneasiness produced a similar effect to the fatigue of 
 exerting her powers, and in a more rapid way, for these 
 causes acted more immediately upon the sensorinm, and 
 by weakening its energy, deprived the remote parts of 
 the body of the peculiar feeling which excited our atten- 
 tion. It has also been observed, that two sensations will 
 not act with the same force, at the same moment, because 
 the stonger will generally overcome the weaker. Thus 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 when Miss M'Avoy's attention was excited by ai)y cause 
 which was powerftil enough to overcome the sensation 
 of her sufferings, she would often distinguish colours, 
 read, &c. ; but at other times when this excitement did 
 not exist, she succumbed under it, and the power was 
 diminished, or lost. 
 
 Mr. Egerton Smith came very early into the field, and, 
 because he could not account for the powers he had wit- 
 nessed, in a light where he could barely discern the 
 leaves of a book, and with a bandage covering her eyes,, 
 asserted they must owe their origin to the influence of. 
 vision ! How far may scepticism be carried, if reason can- 
 not fix bounds to its range? 
 
 It has been surmised that the opinions of Mr. Joseph 
 Sandars were derived from his medical friends who 
 made him the vehicle for conveying their sentiments 
 of, or prejudices against Miss M'Avoy. But whether this 
 surmise be correct or not, I cannot acquit him of pre- 
 sumption in taking upon himself to criticise the facts re- 
 lated in the Narrative ; but " Les passions les plus vio- 
 lentes laisi^ent quelquefois du relache, mais la vanity 
 iious agite toujours." There is also a striking evidence 
 from the sameness of the charges against Miss M'Avoy 
 in the different letters, that they were obtained for the 
 mere purpose of making out a good case. It is well 
 known that Mr. Sandars declared his intention of puz- 
 zling Miss M'Avoy on the very morning of the day ef 
 his visit, so that it may be fairly presumed lie had pre- 
 judged the question. ''s= 
 
 * The publication of Mr. Sandars followed so immediately that of the Nar- 
 rative, that very little time was allowed for the perusal of the latter : the bold 
 and positive assertions of him and of his friends, induced the public to believe 
 he must be right, because that public could not conceive any man would 
 have the hardihood, in the face of a multitude of experiment's, which had bocn 
 
xn PREFACE ' 
 
 The opportuuities which other persons had, who opposed 
 Miss M'Avoy's pretensions to the possession of peculiar 
 powel-s, as far as I am acquainted with them, have not 
 been much greater than that from which Mr. Sandars 
 drew his conclusions. 
 
 I have given an account of the two which Dr. Traill 
 had of examining into her case; once at Wavertree, and 
 once in St. Paul's Square. Dr. Vose also visited her at 
 Wavertree, and once at her own house, when she was in 
 convulsions. When I first read the names of Dr. Traill 
 and Dr. Vose as the authority for the opinion of Mr.' 
 Thompson, one of the Editors of the London Medical 
 Repository, (alluded to above,) 1 mitst own I was sur- 
 prised, because I was convinced that neither of the gen- 
 tlemen would have been satisfied with similar evidence 
 in any other case, as a proof of vision. 
 
 It is well known I have taken the utmost pains to give 
 every information and every opportunity of examination 
 into her case, vthich individuals might wish: and it is 
 
 Repeated also by different individuals, to foist upon it an opinion so hastily 
 formed, and so incautiously given ; founded upon an almost momentary exa- 
 mination, nnd expressed at the time in a manner indicative of a deficiency of 
 common feeling, and of that spirit of cool investigation, which should in- 
 fluence the man of science not to have decided without stronger grounds upon 
 a poiht, which to say the least of it, might be doubtful, and in which the cha- 
 racter of a young female was seriously implicated. 
 
 The charge of impos^ition was made against Miss M' A voy , and the facts 
 in the Narrative were either not read, or were passed by as fictions brought 
 forward to deceive the public. The perusal of these facts, and of others which 
 will be noticed hereafter, will shew how imprudent it is to draw a too hasty 
 conclusion whether in favour of, or against an occurrence of an extraordinary 
 natur^. Indeed, an impartial person might doubt from the evidence upon 
 which they have acted, whether the charge of imposition against the pubKc 
 might not, with more propriety, be laid against some of her opponents, thap 
 against Miss M'Avoy. . 
 
PREFACE. ^Vil 
 
 tjqtjaljy well known that the greater part of those, who 
 visited her, are perfectly convinced, not only of her 
 blindness, but of her having- possessed the peculiar pow- 
 ers attributed to her- In the Narrative T have said, " I 
 am merely the historian of her case, not the advocate of 
 imposture ; and if any evidence be advanced, that she can 
 see, which is better than what I have produced of her 
 blindness, 1 shall not hesitate to retract an opinion which 
 has not been founded upon slight grounds, nor without 
 the due consideration the subject demanded." 
 
 I will even yet redeem this pledge if any proof be given 
 that she has possessed the power of vision at any period 
 from the 7th of June, 1816, to the present time; for I 
 have none of those feelings which would prevent me 
 from acknowledging an errror, if I had committed it, for 
 the acknowledgment of error is no degradation to any 
 man. But, until that time arrive, I must hold the opinion 
 I have formed from a multitude of experiments and facts, 
 for *' Mea mihi conscientia pluris est, quam omnium 
 sermo.-' 
 
 It was my intention many months ago^ to publish the 
 Continuation of the Narrative of this Case, but the reasons 
 I have assigned, have induced me to defer it. I should 
 tjtill have deferred it, had it not been for that information 
 which often reaches the individual the most interested, 
 the last of all. 
 
 I fwund the very persons who should have been guided 
 by the evidence of their senses, and who were strenuous 
 advocates in Miss M'Avoy's favour, diminish, as it were, 
 one by one, because they found it hazardous in the ex- 
 treme to venture an opinion against ridicule, satire, and 
 sarcasm. 
 
Xviii PREFACE. 
 
 By aeeidental informatioD I became acquainted with 
 the mode pursued by Miss M'Avoy's antagonists to make 
 her integrity suspected, and by charging me with credu- 
 lity to injure me professionally, because a credulous man 
 must always be doubted as a man of sound judgment ; but 
 I might retort upon any person who advocates this doc- 
 rine, that incredulity is a weakness in him who refuses 
 io believe that which he sees ; and becomes, \f he persist, 
 in this conduct, a crime of no small magnitude; more 
 particularly, when he attemps to stem the current 
 of truth by e9gulphing it in the dangerous vortex of 
 falsehood.* 
 
 From an observation of a gentleman mentioned in 
 the Continuation of her case. I found that a system 
 had been adopted to make the public suppose the 
 whole affair an imposition. From that moment I deter- 
 mined not to await the event of her death, which I had 
 before intended, and which there had been every reason 
 to expect, at different periods for more than two years 
 past, but to publish the Conlinuation of her Case, to 
 state the facts as they really were, and to leave the public 
 to judge of them. 
 
 Liverpool, April 20th, 1820. 
 
 • Some of my friends have said uith a smile, " Ah ! Doctor, if our richer 
 merchants, or neighbouring gentlemen had related this case, your professional 
 brethren would each have examined into its nature; you would have been 
 saved from the charge of credulity ; and the numbers who would then havo 
 believed in, and reported upon it, \\ould have established the truth of tht- 
 statement with the public." 
 
THE 
 
 CONTINUATION OF THE NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 MISS MARGARET IVPAVOYs CASE. 
 
 JLn the Narrative, the account of this case is brought 
 down to the 1st of October, and I shall proceed with the 
 continuation of it to the present time. 
 
 October 8th, 1817. — The effects of the mercury were 
 very perceptible in the mouth and gums, and its use was 
 discontinued. Complains much of the pain and beating 
 sensation in the back of the head. Pulse 120. 
 
 Abdomen minus tensum evadit, sed, manu pressum, doloie afficitur. 
 Alvus solvitur, at dejectiones parvae tenesmo concomitantur. 
 Omitt. Lin. et I'il. Hydrarg. 
 
 Cap. 01. Ricin. ^ 1 statim.- 
 
 October 9th. — The pain in the head is still more acute. 
 
 Oleum ricini non sorljuit. 
 
 Note. I received a note from Dr. Brandreth request- 
 ing me to obtain permission for the Bishop of Che.-tcr, 
 the Rev. Mr. Slade, Vicar of Bolton, and Miss Law, to 
 visit Miss M'Avoy. 1 sent Dr. Brandreth's note with a 
 
g 
 
 few lines to Mr. Hughes, to enforce his request for the 
 necessary permission, which was refused upon the plea 
 of indisposition. Having received a note also from Mr. 
 Wm. Earle, upon the same subject, 1 went up to St. 
 Paul's Square, to visit Miss M'Avoy, and, to endeavour, 
 if her state of health permitted it, to gain her consent to 
 receive the above party, and the Dean of Chester, Dr. 
 Hodgson. As Miss M'Avoy was very poorly, I coin- 
 cided in the propriety of her not receiving any visitors. 
 Notes were sent to Dr Brandreth, and to Mr. Earle, 
 assigning Miss M'Avoy's illness, as the reason for refus- 
 ing the party admission. Dr. Brandreth however called 
 upon me the following morning, to say he had not 
 recieved my note until he returned home in the after- 
 noon, but that, in the mean time, he had accompanied 
 the Bishop and his party to St. Paul's Square, and found 
 Miss M'Avoy so very unwell that he declared his inten- 
 tion of not troubling her to make any trial of her 
 powers. Her usual ^ood nature, however, prevailed 
 over her distressing feelings, and she told Dr. Brandreth 
 she would try if she could distinguish colours, &c. Her 
 hands were so very cold that Dr. Brandreth rubbed them 
 with a towel for some time. The goggles were then tied 
 on, and she went throug:h the different trials with consi- 
 derable correctness for a little time, but soon afterwards 
 lost the power. 
 
 October 10th. 
 
 Heri imbibit oleum ricini, et valde pvofuiU 
 
 She was induced from the persuasion of some of 
 her friends to go to the Oratorio with Mr. Thomas. As 
 there was some difficulty in obtaining an eligible seat. 
 Dr. Brandreth, being one of the committee, was applied 
 to, and he recommended her to sit under the orchestra, 
 
where she wouI4 be less incommoded than any where 
 else. He was so polite as to attend her to another door 
 for this purpose. Miss M'Avoy was supported on the 
 one side by Dr. B., and on the other by Mr. Thomas, 
 who, forgetting the circumstance of her entire depend- 
 ence upon them, were engaged in conversation. In 
 crossing the church yard, Miss M*Avoy's feet came in 
 contact v\ ith a very low grave-stone, and, she would have 
 fallen, had she not been supported. When in the church, 
 a book of the words of the Oratorio, or selection of 
 sacred music was given to her, but she could not read 
 the words with her lingers ; nor did she appear, from Dr. 
 Brandreth's account, to be particularly delighted with 
 the music, although she afterwards expressed herself 
 pleased with it. The strength of the chorus being too 
 powerful, she was very soon obliged to leave the church 
 and return home. In the afternoon, Mr. Blundell, of 
 Ince, met me in St. Paul's Square, by appointment, and 
 Miss M*Avoy went through the different experiments 
 very correctly. The goggles were first used, and then 
 the pieces of goldbeater's skin upon silk and velvet. 
 Mr. Blundell expressed himself satisfied she was blind- 
 folded, 
 
 October 11th. — Miss M'-Avoyis considerably better. 
 
 Lord and Lady Lilford, Mr. and Mrs. Ireland Black- 
 burne, Mr. Rawsthorne, Mr. Sankey, of Holliwell, Mr. 
 Wm. Perry, jun. and several other persons were present. 
 The goldbeater's skin and the gojrgles were separately 
 made use of to blindfold her, and the party expressed 
 themselves satisfied the coverings were effectual for the 
 purpose. She named th« colour of silks, liquids, seals, 
 &e. the time of the day in different watches; she told 
 ©ne coloured liquor behind her. With her hand upon 
 
the window, she said there was a gentleman standing 
 upon a part of the stone-work belonging to the church ; 
 she said, correctly, he had his hands before him, and 
 afterwards that he held two bottles in his hands. On 
 this day a circumstance occurred which I think it neces- 
 sary to state, as it gave greater currency to a report 
 which had been circulated before, that Miss M'Avoy 
 received money from the persons who visited her. Mr. 
 Wm. Perry, jun. now Dr. Perry, and I were only left 
 in the room, when the party went away, and we were 
 surprised at the return of the Rev. Vincent Glover, one 
 of the party, who gaily said, I have brought money for 
 you, at the same time placing some silver in her lap. 
 Miss M'Avoy instantly refused it, and requested Mr. 
 Glover to return it to the parties, as she never took 
 money from any body. I was silent, determined to see 
 how Miss M'Avoy would act. Mr. Glover insisted on 
 her keeping the money, and as it could not be then 
 returned, she retained it. Mr. Wm. Perry and I then 
 went away. I mentioned the circumstance to Dr. Brand- 
 reth, and afterwards to the Rev. E. Glover, her confes- 
 sor, who both reprobated the placing Miss M'Avoy in 
 so unpleasant a situation. 
 
 Lord Lilford it seems was the person who asked Mr. 
 V. Glover if Miss M'Avoy was fond of fruit, which he 
 answered in the affirmative, and Lord Lilford gave a 
 few pieces of silver for the purpose of purchasing it. 
 The identical money was wrapped up in paper, and 
 placed upon the mantle-piece. Upon Mr. Hughes being 
 informed a few days afterwards of the circumstance, he 
 requested Mr. E. Glover to enclose it in a parcel direct- 
 ed to Lord Lilford, and accompanied with a polite note, 
 slating the reason for returning it. The family were 
 afraid of informing Mr. Hughes of it before, as it would 
 
d 
 
 have fold him that parties had been admitted after he 
 had positively declared his determination to refuse ad- 
 mission to every person who came to visit his step-daugh- 
 ter for the mere sake of curiosity. 
 
 October 13th. — Continues much the same. 
 
 I had some difficulty in obtaining liberty for a party 
 to visit her this afternoon, and as it was generally under- 
 stood this would be the last large party the family would 
 ever admit again, the room was literally inundated, so 
 that the chairs, tables, and piano -forte were taken into 
 requisition as standing places, and several ladies in front 
 of Miss M'Avoy were upon their knees during this exa- 
 mination. Amongst the party were the Rev. Jonathan 
 Brooks, Mr. Thomas Cropper, Mr. John Cropper, Mr. 
 Thomas Corrie, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Ingram, and 
 several other gentlemen and ladies, in all making thirty- 
 five persons, in a room about 11 1 feet by 12^, As Miss 
 M'Avoy's eyes, particularly the left, were sore, I was in- 
 duced only to apply one layer of goldbeater's skin upon 
 black velvet, with a piece of black silk placed upon the 
 centre, to prevent the mucilaginous matter of the gold- 
 beater's skin from irritating the eyes. Had I been aware 
 any advantage would have been taken of a circumstance 
 of this nature, I should certainly have applied both the 
 coverings as usual. She for the most part went through 
 the different experiments correctly, but as some observa- 
 tions were made that the covering was loosened from 
 the upper part of the orbit of the eye, I did not think 
 it necessary to lay any stress upon the eyelids being 
 closed, and the goldbeater's skin adhering so closely to 
 the lower part of the eyes as to draw the skin with 
 it when taken off. But in mentioning the circum- 
 stance in the last page of the Narrative, I declared 
 
the whole of the experiments this day to be nugatory as 
 to the proof required of her powers. The goggles were 
 afterwards tied on, but Miss M*Avoy, from the great 
 heat of the room, had become so exhausted, I was not 
 surprised at her not being able to name a single colour. 
 One of the youug ladies present wished to try the cover- 
 ings, taken off from Miss M'Avoy's eyes, and, after 
 wetting the goldbeater's skin, I applied them to her eyes. 
 From having been used before, they did not adhere so 
 closely as to prevent the young lady opening the eyelids 
 by a moderate exertion of the muscles, and she was 
 able to tell the colour of a glove, to name the time of the 
 day, and to read, I think it was^ the direction of a letter. 
 The young lady appeared satisfied in her own mind, 
 she had performed all Miss M'x^voy had done, and ex- 
 pressed herself afterwards, I have understood, very con- 
 fidently in company, that Miss M'Avoy could see. I, 
 on the same day, however applied two fresh pieces of 
 goldbeater's skin sewed upon silk or muslin to the young 
 lady's eyes, which, if sufficient time had been allowed 
 for them to have dried upon the closed eyelids, would 
 have shown the difference jof power in the two ladies. 
 As the young lady felt inconvenience from the applica- 
 tion, I immediately took tfcem off The goggles were 
 then tied over the face of the same young lady, but not 
 being able to bear the oppressive heat they occasioned, 
 ihey were removed.* These were the only coverings 
 made use of, 
 
 October 19th. — Complains of head-ache. Pulse 72. 
 
 Alvi naturales sunt dejectiones. 
 
 • See Mr. Sandars's comments upon the visit of this day, page 34 and 35 
 
 of tis Hints. 
 
Uncov^ered she told the time of the day within two 
 minutes. 
 
 October 21st — Miss M'Avoy has been using* the mer- 
 curial ointment for some days. Pulse 108. 
 
 Alvi dejectiones minimoe, cum tenesmo, et frequentes, 
 ^ 01. Ricini. 5 !• cap. statim. 
 
 The Rev. J. Brooks, Major Brooks, Mr. Grey, and 
 Dr. Jardine, were present. The g^oggles were used, but 
 she could not name a colour, nor did she do so when 
 uncovered. She was ag*ood deal agitated, and the pulse 
 rose to IS2. As soon as the agitation ceased, it fell to 
 108, but she could give no proof of her powers. 
 
 October 23d. — She felt herself very ill, and her hands 
 were cold and clammy. Pulse 108. 
 
 Respondit bene oleum ricini. 
 
 Mr. Greymet me by appointment in St. Paul's Square. 
 The goggles were used. She named a few colours very 
 incorrectly. Upon pushing one of the fingers towards 
 the eye, she never blinked ; but, in this instance, Mr. 
 Grey expressed himself as if he thought she had made 
 a resolute effort to hold the e^e more steadily when this 
 experiment was made. She told the time of the day in 
 two watches, which were put with their backs towards 
 her face, in a reclining position. I think at this time 
 she was uncovered, but it seemed to me hardly probable 
 she could have seen the hands in the position the watches 
 were placed, even if she had the power of vision. She 
 did not read well, but named the word " temptation" ; 
 but this was not satisfactory, as the book had been 
 placed before her for some time. I turned over the leaf, 
 and covered it with my hand, until I could p'ace her. 
 
8 
 
 hand in the situation mine had occupied ; with her fin- 
 gers under her own hand she read, " I goe." I requested 
 her to name the letters, which she did, as written above. 
 Mr. Grey, who stood behind her, thought he also saw 
 these words. It is possible Mr. Grey might see them, 
 but from the position in which Miss M'Avoy sat, with 
 her face almost in a perpendicular line over the hand, 
 she must have seen through the hand to have discovered 
 the words. She could not name the colour of a piece 
 of leather, red on the one side and buff on the other. 
 Upon the whole of this trial Mr. Grey expressed his 
 opinion that Miss M'Avoy must see. The heat of her 
 hands by Farenheit's Thermometer was 92 degrees. 
 
 October 24th. — The eyes were very much inflamed 
 from the heat and irritation produced by the different 
 coverings which had latterly been applied. She was 
 requested to bathe them frequently with luke-warm 
 milk and water. Pulse 96. 
 
 The Rev. James Hornby requested me to meet him in 
 St. Paul's Square. He was accompanied by Lady Mary 
 Stanley, his niece, the Honourable Miss Charlotte Stan- 
 ley, Miss Hornby, Miss Hesketh, and Mrs. Brandreth. 
 With the goggles coveriitg the face, she named the 
 colour of several silks, the time of the day in two 
 watches, the colour of a green, and of a whitish seal. 
 She felt the reflected image of Dr. Freckleton, who 
 had just come into tlie room with Dr Brandreth, when 
 feeling through plain glass, and named him. She de- 
 scribed, in a similar manner, the face and person of Lady 
 Mary Stanley, and of Miss Hesketh, and the colour of 
 the hair of each, but she did not describe Miss Hornby, 
 who afterwards looked into the glass. She traced the 
 figure of an old man upon Dr. Brandreth's snuff box, 
 
ftjiicli more correctly than when it was given to h^t 
 once before. She read, through a magnifying-glass, a 
 word or two only in a book. It was observed that both 
 the box and the book, as held in her hands at the time, 
 were totally out of the line of vision if even she had the 
 most perfect command of sight, and could have seen, 
 as it has been asserted, down the sides of the nose. 
 
 October 25th. — Continues much the same. Pulse 108, 
 
 I was requested to meet his Excellency the Duke of 
 San Carlos, this morning in St. Paul's Square, and i 
 found him accompanied by two gentlemen of his suite, 
 and the Rev. Edward Glover. Before I arrived. Ids 
 Grace had tried several experiments which Miss M^Avoy 
 succeeded in to the entire satisfaction of his Grace, and 
 the gentlemen present. The eyes were covered with the 
 goggles. 
 
 October 26th. — The eyes are very tineasy, and slie 
 complains of pain in the head. Her mouth and gums 
 were again affected with the mercury, which she had 
 used of her own accord for several days. 
 
 Alvus obstipatur, dolore viscerum concomitata. 
 Omitt. Frictio hydrarg. 
 Hep. Mist. Cathartica. 
 
 October 27th. — The vessels of the tunica conjunctiva 
 are suffused with red blood. She does not complain of 
 much pain in them, except when the eyes are covered 
 or pressed upon. Pulse 120. Alvus astricta. 
 
 Rep. Mist. Cathartica. 
 
 Several persons visited her, but she did not gsiv* any 
 Diaterial proof of her powers. 
 
1$ 
 
 October SOth.— Complains of more violent pain in the 
 head, and throbbing across, and in the sockets of the 
 eyes. For some time past she has been observed to 
 stagger when she rose from her chair, or walked across 
 the room, but to-day the staggering occurred much more 
 frequently than before. The eyes are rather worse, and 
 the eyelids indurated with considerable itching. Pulse 
 96. Alvus minus dura. 
 
 Rep. Misf. Cathartica* 
 
 R Ung. Cetacci. 
 
 Hydrarg. Nitrat. aa. 3 «• M. ut ft. 
 
 Ung. eujus pauxillum, pcncilli hirsuti camelini auxUio, inter cUiarum radices* 
 quaqne hocte applicetur. 
 
 J^ Zinci Sulphat. gr. vi. 
 Aq. Fontanee, 5 viii. 
 M. ot ft. Collyrium quinquies de die utendunu 
 
 November 1st. — The red suffusion of the eyes, and the 
 induration of the eyelids are relieved. The abdomen is 
 much softer. The pain of the head, the oppression of 
 the chest, and the uneasy sensation about the region of 
 the heart are much increased. She walks more unstea- 
 dily across the room, and, when she rises from her chair, 
 would frequently fall if not supported. She has fallen 
 when there was no support near, and o«ce I saved her 
 from falling into the fire. 
 
 She could not name a colour or read a word, but when 
 covered with the goggles, she told the time of the day 
 correctly as to the minute hand, but said it was twenty- 
 five minutes past 12 o'clock instead of eleven. 
 
 November 2nd. — Was not so well to-day. Pulse vary- 
 ing from 68 to 108, moderate in fulness, but slightly 
 intermitting. 
 
 Paulo tardatar urina. 
 
 Bibat libere laticcm imperialem. 
 
11 
 
 She was employed, in making • iittie ornaments of 
 coloured paper. Upon being asked if she could distin^ 
 guish the one colour from the other, she said she could, 
 but it was not from the colour, but from the different 
 sensation each paper, from its texture, impressed upon her 
 fingers. 
 
 November 4th. — The pain in the fore and back part 
 of the head, and the beating sensation continue with 
 increased violence. The oppression of the chest, the 
 tightness about the hearty and the difficulty of breathing 
 iare much worse. Piilse moderately full, but variable in 
 frequency from 96 to 120. The effects of the mercury 
 ^re still perceptible in the mouth and gum«, but there ha^ 
 been no ptyalism. 
 
 liingua pellita; ajvus sciuta ; et urina Kberius reddita.. E oarc dex|ro, par- 
 *ium cuticulam yicinarum, excorians, dejicitur mat§ri(?s acr^s. 
 fiaX, V. 3. statim. 
 
 The quantity of blood drawn did ijot exceed five 
 ounces, ere she feft faint, but there seemed to be a good 
 deal of firmness in the coagulum, with onjy ^ pnoderate 
 portion of serum. 
 
 Si sit occasio Tcspere Repr. V. seetiQ. 
 
 November 5th. — It was not thought necessary to 
 repeat the bleeding. The pain in the head is very 
 violent, and she starts up involuntarily from her cji&ir 
 iipon any sudden noise or alarm. 
 
 Has had no power of distingmishing coiours for some 
 days. Can neither sew nor thread a needle. The day 
 before yesterday she attempted to threAd a needle hut 
 did not succeed, till she had made many trials. . in 
 i^ttempting afterwards to hem a piece of linen, shd 
 
IS 
 
 pricked her firie:ers oftener than «he passed ii throegh 
 the linen, and was obliged to give it up. Pulse 88. 
 
 Lingua »on tam scabra ; »ed alvus iteriim obstipatur. 
 Repr. Mist. Cathartica. 
 
 Norember 6th — A])pears better to-day, although she 
 does not think herself so. Pulse 8i to 96. 
 
 Ahois tamen suppressa. 
 Bepr. Mist. Cathartica 
 
 I found the Rev. Edward Glover, Mr. Bullock, of 
 London, and Mr. Roskell, in St. PauPs Square. What 
 experiments they had made before I arrived, I am not 
 aware of, but with the goggles on, and with her hand 
 covering that part of the book, she read four words, 
 " the voice we love,'' but she could neither tell the time 
 of the day, nor name a single colour of silk or of any 
 seal. A gold pin with a green stone was put into her 
 hands. She said the pin was gold, but she could not 
 name the colour of the stone. Mr. Bullock and Mr. 
 Rosfvell tried the goggles, one after the other, and were 
 perfectly satisfied of their efficacy in blindfolding them- 
 selves, and had no doubt of Miss M*Avoy having been 
 blindfolded. Mr. S. 1. Browne, of Bath, who came in 
 about this time with Mr. Thomas, in consequence of an 
 appointment made with me the day before, also tried 
 them upon his own eyes, and expressed himself in an 
 equally confident manner. Mr. Bullock wished to take 
 the goggles with him to London, and Mrs. Hughes and 
 her daughter good-naturedly complied with his wish. 
 Mr. Browne obtained noproof of her powers this morn- 
 ing, as afier his arrival she could not do anything. He 
 called upon me about ten o'clock in the evening to 
 express his thanks for my attention, and to say he had 
 been at Mrs. Hughes's house the greater part of the 
 evening, and had been highly gratified with an e:xhibition 
 
13 
 
 of the powers of Miss M^Avoy. He declared himself 
 fully convinced of their reality. It is his intention to lay 
 them before the Bath Literary and Philosophical Society. 
 
 An account of these experiments was published in the 
 Bath and Cheltenham Gazette, soon after the above 
 period. 
 
 November 8th. — She complained yesterday of having 
 been much fatigued with the exertion of making 
 goggles for Mr. Browne, who wished to have a 
 pair. It seems she did not complete them until after five 
 hours alternate labour and relaxation. Complains of 
 the pain and throbbing in the head, oppression of the 
 chest, difficult breathing-, and tightness about the region 
 of the heart. The eyelids are more painful, and there 
 is a slight discharge from the meibomian glands. 
 
 Alvus constricta. 
 Repr. Mist. Cathartica. 
 J'iat V. S. et Detr. Sanguinis 5 vi. ad 5 viii. 
 
 Eight ounces o^blood were taken away from the arm, 
 and she felt considerable relief in the chest, and the 
 difficulty of breathing became less violent. There 
 appeared to be more contraction and dilatation in the 
 pupil, but the sudden presentation of the fingers to 
 <Mther eye did not make her blink. 
 
 November 9th.— The blood which had considerable 
 tenacity yesterday, is more loose in its texture, and a 
 considerable part of the red globules might have been 
 poured out in a fluid state. The proportion of serum 
 was more considerable than usual. Complains of sick- 
 ness at the stomach, and rejects her food. 
 
 ^ Aq. Fontanfe ^ ^"* 
 Kali aerat. 5 iv. 
 M. siunat cochl. ii. cum. i. sue. Limonum 4ta. q. q. bora. 
 
14 
 
 November 10th.— The pain and throbbing of the 
 iiead, with the deep-seated pain in the sockets of the eyes, 
 still continue. The giddiness is increased, and attended 
 with twitching of the legs and arms, and great irritability 
 of the whole muscular system. Pulse from 84 to 108. 
 
 November 11th. — The saline mixture, and every thing 
 she took, were rejected. The pain in the head is more 
 violent, particularly in the back part. Pulse 84 to 96. 
 She was advised to take a roasted apple now and then. 
 Abradato capillitio, appr. Empl. LjUs ampUis. capiti posteriori. 
 
 November 12th. — The blister was not applied. The 
 pain is no better. 
 
 Alvus astricta. 
 Repr. Pil. Cathartic, vi. h. s» 
 Repr. Mitt. Cathartica. u. a. 
 
 November I6th. — All the symptoms are much increas- 
 ed in violence, except the sickness, which was relieved, 
 she thinks, by the roasted apples. Alvus Ien6 solvitur. 
 Pulse varying from 108 to 120. 
 
 Repr. Pil. ct Mist. Cathartica, u. a. 
 Appr. Emp. Lyttae ampl. capiti abradato. 
 
 November 16th. — The blister was not applied. She 
 was seized with convulsions about 12 o'clock last night, 
 The right side is paralytic, and there is almost a constant 
 twitching, with contractions of the limbs and toes, with 
 a quick alternate rising and falling motion of the should 
 ders and elbows. Occasionally when the fits are most 
 violent, her left hand and arm is fixed against her breast 
 or head. If force be used to detach them, the whole 
 body is brought forward. Dr. Hannay and I tried to 
 separate them with a very considerable power, but 
 without effect. If any attempt Ji)e made to hold the feet 
 or the hands, the resistance seems to be increased, and 
 
the convulsive motions become evidently more violent. 
 The peculiar sensibility of the right foot, upon any 
 sudden pressure, has again occurred. The eyes during 
 the paroxysm are generally turned upwards in the head, 
 sometimes, when the convulsions are not so violent, they 
 roll about from side to side. The heat between her lips 
 by Farenheit's Thermometer was 100, and between the 
 toes 92 degrees. Pulse varying from 82 to 120 
 
 Appr. Bmp. Lytte capiti abradato. 
 
 November 17th. — There appears a good deal more of 
 hysteric affection combined with the convulsions than 
 formerly, she sobs occasionally, and tears flow. The 
 twitchings were so violent, that I could not count the 
 pulse. The blister rose very well. 
 
 Alyas libcre solvitur. 
 
 November 18th. — Is much the same. She appeared 
 sensible for about four minutes, and, upon examining 
 the eyes during this period, they contracted and dilated 
 much more strongly than I had observed them to do 
 before. During the convulsion the pupils could rarely 
 be seen, but the eye-ball moved to and fro very quickly. 
 She takes no other food, but a very small quantity of 
 coffee mixed with milk and sugar. 
 
 November 19th. — Her mother informed me that Miss 
 M*Avoy was so little sensible yesterday, she did not recol- 
 lect 1 had visited her. Upon pinching very severely, the 
 skin of the right arm, she expressed no sensation of 
 pain. Alvus astricta. 
 
 Hodie menses adfueruut per bora^ aliquot, et vespexe disparuerimt. 
 Repr. mi ,t Cathartic. 
 
16 
 
 November 20th. — During my visit she was not sensi- 
 ble. From the convulsive twitchings being more frequent, 
 I could not count the pulse. 
 
 November 21st. — The convulsions are not quite so vio- 
 lent as before. At first, the pulse varied, from 84 to 108 ; 
 in fifteen seconds, at another time, it rose from 96 to 132 
 pulsations in the minute. Upon coming out of the con- 
 vulsions, she took a little coffee, mixed with sugar and 
 new milk. The thermometer stood at 99 between the 
 lips, and at 83 between the toes. 
 
 Dr. Jeffreys, Mr. Perry, surgeon dentist, and Mr. Coo* 
 per accompanied me to visit Miss M'Avoy. After some 
 time, an experiment made by Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, 
 upon a young woman labouring under hysteria was 
 mentioned. He introduced a pointed needle between the 
 toe and the nail, which immediately roused the patient. 
 After this circumstance was repeated, it was observed, 
 that Miss M'Avoy lay in a more tranquil state, and the 
 convulsions ceased for a short time. This state of tran- 
 quillity had occurred before at intervals: it was doubted 
 by the party, if this qniei?cent state had not been produc- 
 ed by hearing the account of the above experiments, and 
 more particularly, as she afterwards said, upon the toes 
 being held firmly by Mr. Perry or Mr. Thomas, who had 
 just arrived, we were going to do something with her, or 
 words to that effect. About this time the Rev. E. Glover 
 came in. It was proposed to insert a needle into the 
 quick of the great toe of the right foot. Mr. Perry held 
 the toes with one hand, and, with the other, he inserted 
 a needle to the depth of the eighth of an inch or more ; 
 the did not appear to be sensible of any pain. It was 
 thought advisable to repeat this experiment, and he 
 ^i^rain took hold of the right toe, but it seemed, as it 
 
17 
 
 were to shrink from his grasp, and, the more tightly he 
 held it, the resistance was the greater, until at last after 
 numerous efforts, he again introduced the point of the 
 needle under the nail of the great toe, but, as he said, 
 not near so deep as the first. At the moment of intro- 
 ducing it, she almost sprang up in the bed, and became 
 more strongly convulsed and agitated. Her face was 
 more flushed than usual, and drops of perspiration stood 
 upon the upper lip. The idea, I have little doubt, which 
 occurred to some of the gentlemen present, was, that 
 the sudden starting and agitation were solely owing to 
 the puncture of the needle, but, if this were the case, I 
 see no reason why these effects should not have been 
 produced equally by the first puncture. Mr. Perry was 
 positive the first puncture was the deepest, and he declar- 
 ed this to be his opinion after the second puncture had 
 been made. I have no doubt from the difficulty Mr. 
 Perry had in holding the toes steadily, that he pressed 
 his hand upon the sole of the foot, at the moment of in- 
 troducing the needle a second time, and that the sudden 
 starting and agitation were owing to this cause only, 
 and not to the puncture of the needle. Moderate pres- 
 sure with the hand on the sole of the foot, or, if pressed 
 suddenly upon the bed, or on the floor, had frequently 
 a similar effect, but in a degree proportioned to the pres- 
 sure.* Mr. Cooper and I pinched severely her right 
 arm, but she did not appear sensible of it. The rosary 
 which had been presented to her by Mr. Gandolfi, who 
 visited her some months ago, she generally wore about 
 her neck, but I observed to-day that it was fast locked 
 in her right hand, and round her wrist. At half past 
 seven o'clock, P. M. I visited Miss M'Avoy with Mr. 
 Thomas, and found her in strojag convulsions. We 
 
 * Vide Narrative. 
 C 
 
!iB 
 
 examined the toe, which had been punctured, with con- 
 siderable difficulty, during the few moments, when the 
 convulsions ceased. It had not bled externally, but 
 there appeared a redness under the nail, extending 
 over about half its length. I asked her if she felt me 
 pinch her, or any particular pain ^t the time we visited 
 her. She said she had not felt any pain. Mrs. Hughes 
 was not then aware that any puncture had been made, 
 which was a proof Miss M'Avoy had not known it, or 
 she would, ere this, have informed her mother of it. 
 Upon pressing the sole of the foot at two different times, 
 it retracted very suddenly, and was affected with nearly 
 as much violence as when the second puncture was made 
 with the needle. She fell immediately into convulsions, 
 each time the pressure was made. 
 
 November 22nd.— The convulsions are not so violent. 
 Pulse 96. As she comes out of the convulsions the 
 pulse is much more frequent. Has taken very little 
 food, and could not take the cathartic pills, nor the 
 infus. sennae, from a difficulty in swallowing. Com- 
 plains of tightness and oppression in the chest, and of 
 pain about the region of the heart. Alvus parura 
 soluta. Cutis mollis. 
 
 Mrs. Hughes found out by the questions Mr. Thomas 
 and I asked yesterday, and by conversation with Mr. 
 Glover, the nature of the experiment we had made upon 
 her daughter, and gave us a very severe reprimand for 
 having acted in so cruel a manner. The case is however 
 of so extraordinary a nature, that, upon the proposal 
 being made, I felt myself justified in allowing the trial 
 of any experiment, which would satisfy the minds of the 
 ^ntlemen present, without being materially detrimental 
 to Miss M'Avoy. 1 believe also the cruelty was mor« 
 
19 
 
 in appearance than reality, as I have every reason to 
 think she suffered no pajn ; at any rate no bad effects 
 resulted from it. 
 
 November 25th. — I found her very much improved, 
 although occasionally convulsed. About 1 1 o'clock this 
 morning a discharge took place, similar to that which 
 occurred in June, 1816, a part of which had been ana- 
 lysed by Dr. Bostock. The quantity obtained did not 
 exceed half an ounce. One portion of it was sent to 
 Sir Joseph Banks, and another to Pr, Monro, of Edin- 
 burgh. A sort of tick tiack nois^ was heard as the fluid 
 passed down from above into the stomach, and a sense of 
 suffocation occurred. Complains of considerable throb- 
 bing in the back part of the head, and there appears ai^ 
 enlargement at the upper part pf the occiput. AIvus 
 iibere movetur, 
 
 November 26th. — Is much better, and has had very 
 few convulsions this morning. Dr. Hannay accom- 
 panied me, and during our stay she was not convulsed. 
 Complains of violent pain in the sockets of the eyes, but 
 the general pain of the head is somewhat better. She 
 feels occasionally, as she expresses it, a whirling sensa- 
 tion in the head. Pulse 84 The fluid passes down 
 more quietly, and does not bring on the sense of suffo- 
 cation so frequently. 
 
 November 27th. — A little more fluid was obtained 
 yesterday, but the discharge appears now to have entirely 
 ceased. Complains of pain in the head. The eyelids 
 are sore, and there is a slight suffiision in the tunica 
 conjunctiva. Pulse 108. 
 
 November 30th. — Complains of more pain m the 
 head and in the sockets of the eyes. Pulse 120. 
 
 Repr. Frictio Ungt. hydrarg. 
 
20 
 
 December 1st. — She is still worse to-day. Was engage 
 ed in netting a purse, but was frequently obliged to put 
 if down, being troubled with considerable twitchings 
 and tremblings of the hands and arms, which affect 
 also the lower extremities. Pulse 120, and variable in 
 strength. 
 
 December 6th. — She was better for two br three days, 
 but, to-day, is more complaining. A gentleman from 
 London, of the name of Williams, visited her, and I 
 understand he expressed himself more favourably 
 towards MissM'Avoy after, than he had done before his 
 visit. 
 
 December 8th. — Complains very much of pain in the 
 head, and particularly in the sockets of the eyes, and 
 the least motion or noise increases it The eyelids are 
 much swelled, and matter is occasionally caused from 
 them. The vessels of the tunica conjunctiva are filled 
 with red blood. Pulse 120. A blister was ordered to 
 the back of the head, but its application was deferred 
 from the head not being perfectly healed. 
 
 December lOth.^ — Is rather better, was sewing patch- 
 work, but she could not distinguish colours, nor the 
 figures of the different patches Her mother was oblig- 
 ed to give her the various pieces in the position they 
 were to be sewed together. The sensation from pres- 
 sure at the bottom of the foot still continues, and when 
 the experiment is tried, it increases the pain, and shoots 
 up, particularly to the crown, of the head. Pulse 84. 
 
 December 1 1th,— She named two colours to-day, unco- 
 vered ; her fingers dwelt upon the fingers of the watch, 
 but she could not tell the time of the day. Pulse 108. 
 Alvus lenp dejicitur. 
 
21 
 
 December 15th. — The convulsions continue In the 
 night. Pulse from 96 to 108. 
 
 December 19th. — Is much the same. Complains of 
 pain and tightness about the region of the heart, with 
 alternate chills and heats, coming on about six o'clock, 
 P. M. The mouth is not yet affected with the mercury. 
 The thermometer stood at 62 degrees in the open air; 
 in the bed-room where there was no fire, at 62. The 
 heat of her hands was 86, and in the mouth 106. Pulse 
 from 108 to 120. Alvus liquatur. 
 
 December 29th. — Continues much the same, but the 
 convulsions come on earlier in the evening, and termi- 
 nate sooner in the night. She sleeps little, and from 
 the oppressiv^e sensation about the region of the heart, 
 she cannot lie down when the convulsions have ceased. 
 The issue discharges freely. Pulse 96 ; takes very little 
 food. Employs herself in sewing, but cannot tell a 
 colour. Alvus suppressa. 
 
 December 31st. — The convulsions ceased since the 
 evening of the 29th inst. The convulsive motion of 
 the diaphragm, the difficulty in breathing, and the op- 
 pression about the heart are returned with considerably 
 more violence. The pulse varied from 45 to 98. 
 
 January 1st, 1818. — Continues much the same as yes- 
 terday. Pulse variable, not easily to be counted, but 
 not exceeding 96. The hands and fingers are very cold, 
 to the touch. The thermometer in the room stood at 
 58 ; when held in her hands it rose to 86 ; in the mouth 
 it was 106 ; and in the upper part of the eyelid 102. The 
 mercury has slightly affected the mouth. Coffee and 
 milk mixed with cream and sugar, is still her principal 
 
22 
 
 food. Whenever she takes a mouthful or two of solid 
 food, even of bread, it disagrees with her, and lies for 
 several hours as a weight upon her stomach. Alvus 
 pauI6 astricta. 
 
 January 3rd. — Complains still more of oppression 
 about the region of the heart, with difficulty of breath- 
 ing. Pulse from 96 to 108; variable and feeble. Linr 
 gua fceda. Alvus paullulum soluta. 
 
 Detr. Sanguinis e brachio S viii. 
 
 The blood drawn had a slightly buffy coat. The pulse 
 became more steady ; the difficulty in breathing, and the 
 spasmodic affection of the diaphragm were evidently 
 relieved. 
 
 -K. 01. Ricini. 5 i- Capt. statim. 
 
 January 4th. — Continues rather better. Pulse from 
 96 to 108. She had not taken the castor oil. 
 
 January 6th. — Continues much the same, but the diffi- 
 culty of breathing is increased. 
 
 Repr. V. S. et Detr. Sang, e brachio, 5 viii. 
 
 Mr. Thomas being engaged, Mr. Dale hied Miss 
 M*Avoy, which relieved her from the difficulty of 
 breathing, but she became very faint. 
 
 January 7th. — The convulsive motion of the dia- 
 phragm is better ; there was little or no buff upon the 
 blood, but it was cupped. Pulse 120. Alvus majis 
 astricta. Lingua tamen foeda. 
 
 JR. Vin. Antimon. .? ss, Capt. G. x. ter de die. 
 Repr. Infus. senna, u. a. 
 
na 
 
 January 9lh. — The drops agree very well with the 
 stomach. She took a distaste to the coffee and milk. 
 Bouillon was given to her which she threw up. The 
 convulsive motion continues, with oppression about the 
 heart, and frequent catching or gasping in the breath- 
 ing. The legs and feet swell towards the evening, and 
 she complains of a sense of fulness in the hands, face, 
 and body. The face appears more leucophlegrriatie, 
 but otherwise she is very little altered in appearance^ 
 though somewhat thinner in the body. 
 
 January 11. — Continues much the same, 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 About six ounces of blood were obtained, whilst run- 
 ning down the arm ; the blood had a ferruginous ap- 
 pearance. — Pulse from 86 to 120. 
 
 January 12. — The red particles of the blood drawn 
 yesterday are probably more fluid, and there is a larger 
 proportion of serum than before. The serum is of a turbid 
 milky appearance. The pulse variable, from 84 to 
 108. Complains still of pain in the sockets of the eyes, 
 and at the back of the head. \ 
 
 January 13. — Is so much better to-day, that the dysp- 
 noea and convulsive motion were hardly perceptible, and 
 the lancinating pain about the region of the heart is very 
 much relieved. Pulse 96, more regular and moderately 
 soft. Her appetite is very indifferent. Is not con- 
 scious of obtaining any sleep. Employs herself in 
 sewing, and making little ornaments with coloured 
 paper. Alvus libera. 
 
24 
 
 January 14. — The convulsive motion, dyspnoea, and 
 pain about the region of the heart have returned in some 
 degree. Pulse 72.— Alvus soluta. 
 
 January 15.— The convulsive motion and dyspnoea 
 were more violent. Pulse 84. 
 
 The Rev. Mr, Chippendale, of Winwick, accompa- 
 nied me to-day, with his nephew, Mr. Dixon. Miss 
 M*Avoy said she had told two colours yesterday, but 
 the power was very weak. She told the colour of the 
 metal of Mr. Chippendale's watch, but she did not 
 name the colour of the seals, nor the time of the day. 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 January 16. — Mr. Thomas took about six ounces of 
 blood from Miss M'Avoy this morning, and it almost 
 immediately relieved the dyspnoea and convulsive mo- 
 tion, which were more violent than yesterday. The 
 blood was slightly buffy. Pulse 84 to 96. 
 
 January 1 7. — Continues much the same. 
 
 The Rev. Doctor Knott and Lord Molyneux expres- 
 sed a wish to see Miss M'Avoy, and I accompanied 
 them to St Paul's Square. She could not distinguish 
 any colour. 
 
 January 20. — Continues much the same. The lanci- 
 nating pain is considerable. Pulse 96 to 108. — Alvus 
 modice cietur. 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 About eight ounces of blood were taken away. The 
 
25 
 
 convulsive motion left her at the time, but returned 
 again in the evening. 
 
 January 22. — The suspension of breathing is returned. 
 She had two attacks in less than half an hour during: my 
 visit. During the suspension, the pulse varied from 90 to 
 120 pulsations in the minute. It continued for nearly half 
 a minute. Her hearing is much more acute. The least 
 noise gives her a sensation of something rushing through 
 the head, and if it be loud, she compares it to the noise 
 produced by the firing of cannon. 
 
 January 23. — The breathing was suspended four times 
 in the space of five minutes, for about ten seconds each 
 time. She feels in the night time, when laying her head 
 down, a sensation, as if she were sinking through the 
 sofa, but she had no power of speaking or of expressing 
 her feelings, when her mother entered the room, al- 
 though she wished her head might be lifted up from the 
 pillow ; this sensation comes on also when she lies upon 
 either side or upon her back. Mrs. Hughes supposed 
 she slept when at first she saw her in that situation She 
 often rests her head upon either hand, with the elbow 
 upon the back of the sofa. 
 
 January 25. — The suspension of breathing is more 
 frequent than before. Pulse 108. Alvus soluta. 
 
 January 26. — From this date to the 29th the pulse 
 varied from 72 to 112. The suspension of breathing 
 came oU very frequently. 
 
 January 30. — She threw up a considerable quantity of 
 bilious matter, which gave her relief. The duration of 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 the attacks of suspension of breathing became shorter, 
 and the intervals longer. Pulse 96. Alvns astricta. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Hydr. submur. c. Jalap, u. a. 
 
 January 31. — The pills were not taken. Complains 
 of the pain about the region of the heart being more 
 severe, and it is attended with considerable twitching of 
 the limbs. The pain in the back part of the head, and 
 in the sockets of the eyes, has increased in violence. 
 Pulse 96. 
 
 February 2. — The suspension of breathing is lessened, 
 but the pain about the region of the heart continues. 
 Pulse 96 to 108. Diarrhoea spontanea superveniente non 
 sorbuit Pil Hydr. submur, 
 
 February 4. — Complains of numbness in the hands, 
 alternating from one to the other. 
 
 February 8. — The convulsive motion of the diaphragm 
 returns in a slight degree. Complains of pain in the 
 head and sockets of the eyes. 
 
 February 12. — The suspension of breathing is better, 
 but the convulsive motion of the diaphragm and pain 
 about the region of the heart are increased. Pulse 120. 
 
 February 16. — The suspension of breathing is still 
 more relieved. The knocking at the door, although the 
 knocker is covered, affected her very much to-day, and 
 she did not recover herself during my visit. The pulse 
 was so irregular, as not to be counted with any degree 
 of accuracy. 
 
27 
 
 February 20.— Is rather better, but complains of a 
 violent pain in the knee coming on occasionally, which 
 she says, is only relieved by rubbing the hip with the 
 hand for some time. She attributes this pain to having 
 hurt her back, when in convulsions, by falling out of bed. 
 For some time has complained of pain in the left side, 
 along the course of the short ribs. Pulse 120. Alvus 
 non dejicitur. 
 
 February 25.— The pain about the region of the heart 
 is not so frequent. Pulse 108, feeble and intermitting. 
 Doctor Hannay soon after came in, and upon feeling 
 the pulse, he observed it was full and regular; upon 
 feeling it just then it was as he stated it to be, but in a 
 few seconds it became again feeble, irregular, and in- 
 termitting. Upon examining the left side, it appeared 
 a good deal fuller than natural. Pressure with the fin- 
 ger gave her much pain. The pupils were more dilated 
 than I had seen them for some time, and upon the ap- 
 plication of a candle near the pupils, they contracted 
 considerably, and became dilated again when it was 
 taken away. Complained of the heat of the candle. 
 The eyes watered, and they appeared rather sore, but 
 upon the quick application afterwards of a needle, and 
 of the finger as near to the eye as they could be applied 
 with safety, she did not blink in the slightest degree. 
 
 February 27.— Continues much the same. Pulse 120. 
 Alvus lend elicitur. 
 
 Mr. William Dixon, junr. having a wish to see Miss 
 M^Avoy, accompanied me. He noticed that whilst he 
 was speaking to her the spasmodic affection was not so 
 frequent. This I liave observed to be the case, when 
 
38 
 
 her attention has been engaged by any one speaking 
 upon a subject which interested her ; but when this has 
 happened, the following paroxysm has been generally 
 much increased in violence. She attempted to feel some 
 colours without success Mr. Dixon tried on the gog- 
 gles, with which he said he coqld see very well, when 
 he had widened the parts over the nose with his fingers, 
 and he could see a little before he enlarged them. I 
 found them stretched so wide, that a finger might be 
 inserted with great ease between the nose and the gog- 
 gles where it should have been closed. These goggles 
 had been made since the power of distinguishing colours, 
 &c. became deficient. They were then tried upon Miss 
 M*Avoy, but after remaining on a short time only, she 
 was seized with a suspension of breathing, which had 
 not occiirred for some days before. 
 
 March 2. — Complains of more pain in the left side. If 
 there be loud speaking, she hears it very acutely, but 
 confusedly, and says it returns again and again, as if an 
 echo were repeated, until it gradually dies away. If one 
 speak slowly in a whispering manner, she hears more 
 distinctly than when spoken loudly to. Pulse full and 
 irregular, about 96 in frequency. Alvus modice, urina 
 pared elictur. 
 
 R Aq. Font. .? rli 
 
 Spr. aether nitric. 
 
 Syr :ringiber. 5 iii 
 
 Vin: antimon: 5 " 
 
 Capt. Coch. ii quarta quaque hora si i:rgeat djauria. 
 
 March 4. — She grows worse. The suspension of 
 breathing returns upon any sudden noise or alarm, 
 sometimes from merely dressing the issqe ia the side. 
 
29 
 
 The first dose of the medicine gave her pain and unea- 
 siness in the stomach, with a sense of weight at her 
 breast, which continued for several hours. Complains 
 very much of cramp in the left hand and arm during the 
 night, and sometimes in the day. The almost constant 
 pain and uneasiness she suflFers appear very much to 
 depress her spirits. The pulse is so very irregular that 
 it cannot be counted. The pupils are less dilated. Has 
 no power of distinguishing colours. 
 
 March 8. — The tightness of the chest, and oppression 
 of breathing are increased. Pulse 96, and irregular. 
 AIvHs obstructa. 
 
 Fiat V. S. statim. 
 
 About five ounces of blood were taken from the arm, 
 which was of a very deep red colour, and after standing, 
 had a slight buflfy coat upon it. The tightness of the 
 chest, and oppression in the breathing were relieved, but 
 immediately after the arm was tied up, she was seized 
 with a sudden spasm ; her head was bent down upon 
 the breast, and her hands were so fast locked upon the 
 stomach, that I could not detach them from it until it 
 ceased. The face was flushed, and the muscles of the 
 face and neck were violently contracted. She became 
 generally very faint when the issue was dressed, and it 
 was ordered to be dried up. 
 
 Bepr. Infus. Sennae u. a. 
 
 Applicetur Empl. Lyttae ampliss. sterno. 
 
 March 9. — The blister w^ applied to the breast, but 
 has not risen. She was desired to let it remain on until 
 the morning. The side was examined in the presence of 
 Doctor Brandretb, Mr Dale, and Mr. Thomas, and 
 
they were satisfied of the eulargement existing. Com- 
 plains of cold shiv'erings coming on occasionally, but of 
 these she had before spoken, when there was no tnmified 
 appearance. Doctor Brand reth advised the application 
 to the tumified parts, of a lintseed cataplasm, with 
 opium. A spasm came on during our visit. There was 
 no pulsation in the wrist during the time it continued, 
 but it was felt in a slight degree as soon as she began to 
 recover from it. 
 
 March 10. — The spasms are more frequent. The blis- 
 ter rose pretty well. Since Tuesday last she has scarcely 
 taken any food whatever. A very trifling quantity of 
 coffee, with milk and sugar, is her only food. She took 
 a small piece of barley sugar, and the least bit of teflee, 
 a composition of sugar, treacle, and butter, boiled to a 
 proper consistence, which produced violent heat in the 
 stomach. 
 
 The twitching was so much increased, that the pulse 
 could not be counted. The cataplasm was omitted as 
 she felt it uncomfortable. Per quinque dies urinae 
 semilibra solummodo reddita fuit. 
 
 March 11. — Is rather better. She took a very small 
 quantity of tamarinds. Her face has become more ema- 
 ciated within the last ten days, than I have seen it before 
 during her long illness. The eyes are more sunk in the 
 head, but, upon speaking to her, they sometimes emit an 
 extraordinary brilliance. The spasms are not so fre- 
 quent. Alvus astricta. Urinae serailibra per horas viginti 
 quatuor reddita fuit. 
 
31 
 
 March 16. — The symptoms are better. Urina modica; 
 alvus obstipafa. 
 
 Rcpr. Infus. sennae. 
 
 Capt. Pil. Hydr. submur; c. lalap: sex u. a. 
 
 si sit accasio ad alvum solvendam. 
 
 The night before last she was alarmed by a roaring 
 noise in the chimney, and a smell of smoke and fire. 
 After knocking upon the wall with her stick, her step- 
 father was awakened, and came down. It appeared 
 that a very good fire had been left when they went to 
 bed, and the flame by some means had communicated 
 with the soot in the chimney, which was set on fire. 
 Yesterday afternoon she felt something in her left ear, 
 and upon putting her finger into it, it was moistened 
 with a fluid, which, upon enquiry, she said was of a ge- 
 latinous nature. Her mother says it was clear, like 
 water, and might amount in quantity to about a tea- 
 spoonful. 
 
 March 17. — Is very considerably better. The swel- 
 ling in the left side increases. There is a fulness ex- 
 tending from the cartilago ensiformis over a part of the 
 epigastric region, following the division of the ribs on 
 the left side. It is so excessively painful upon pressure, 
 that I can scarcely determine its exact situation, or its 
 nature. Has taken two tea-cup^ full of coffee, milk, 
 and sugar, with a very little bread and butter. Has had 
 no spasm in the night. Dejectiones alvi duas habuit 
 astrictas. 
 
 lUpr. Infus: Sennae u. a. 
 
 March 19. — The convulsive affection of the dia- 
 phragm is much relieved, but the spasms recur more 
 
92 
 
 frequently, particularly in the afternoon, and in the 
 night. The pain of the head still continues, but not 
 with so much acuteness as before. Pulse 108. Lingua 
 pura. Alvus libere soluta* 
 
 March 21. — Complains of the pain in the head, and 
 in the sockets of the eyes, being more violent ; alsa of 
 numbness in the left side. Has taken a little more food, 
 but almost every kind of food, except coffee mixed with 
 milk and sugar, lies heavy at the stomach, and gives her 
 an uneasy sensation in the breast. The pulse from 9fV 
 to 108. Alvus modice solvitur. 
 
 March 25. — Continues much the same, but there is at 
 times a stoppage of breathing, which makes her as it 
 were gasp for breath, and it goes oif with a sort of half 
 suppressed cough. Has recovered the use of the right 
 side. Pulsle 108. Alvus cohibita. 
 
 Hepr. Infus. seiinse u. a. 
 
 March 29. — Is not quite so well to-day. The convnl- 
 sive motion of the diaphragm is attended with more 
 twitching of the arms than usual. I could not count the 
 pulse. The least pressure upon the left side produces, 
 an elFeet almost bordering upon syncope, and, if strong- 
 er, conviilsion. She complains of pain in the right side. 
 Alvus solvitur. 
 
 Appl. Empl. Vng. Hyd. lateri 
 
 dextro, super linteum carptum delitum. 
 
 March 31. — Mr. Wingfield, one of the surgeons of the 
 Infirmary at Oxford, accompanied me to visit Miss 
 M'Avoy. He examined the eyes, but did not think 
 there was any contraction or dilatation of the pupils, 
 when suddenly exposed to the light. Pulse 108, 
 
33 
 
 She finished a purse, and some little bagatelles of silk, 
 three or four days back. Has not been employed in 
 this way since. 
 
 She could not distinguish the colour of the different 
 silks, but adopted a plan by which she might remember 
 which was the particular colour wanted. She bent 
 pieces of card into different shapes, and her mother gave 
 them to her one after the other, as the silk was wound 
 upon each, until she recollected the colour of the silk 
 each card contained. Whilst she was netting the purse, 
 she became perfectly familiar with each colour by feeling 
 the particular shape of the card, but to-day she only told 
 the colour of the silk upon one card out of three or 
 four. She fingered the cards in a similar manner to that 
 which I observed before, when she succeeded in telling 
 colours. 
 
 April 1st. — The affection of the diaphragm returned 
 with more violence, and she was seized last night with 
 convulsions, in consequence of the alarm occasioned by 
 the illness of her little brother, a boy of nine years of 
 age. 
 
 He had been confined for some time with psoas abscess 
 which had discharged itself below the groin at different 
 times. The little boy, wishing to be brought down stairs, 
 was indulged in his wish, and was placed upon one end 
 of the sofa, where Miss M*Avoy sat. Yesterday whea 
 Mr. Wingfield and I visited her, he seemed cheerful and 
 easy, but it seems he was seized, about ten o'clock at 
 night, with convulsions, which continued until one 
 o'clock in the morning, when a sense of sufTocation 
 came on and fluid gushed up, and was discharged 
 through the mouth and nostrils. Mr. Thomas saw him 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 in this situation ; he informs me the matter discharged 
 was of a purulent grnmous nature, and he thinks, in 
 quantity, it must have exceeded three pints. On the 
 following day I saw this poor little boy, he appeared 
 insensible to external objects; his right side was para- 
 lytic, but his pulse was moderate in frequency and in 
 fulness. He afterwards appeared ideotic, but he is now 
 very considerably recovered, sensible, able to walk with 
 assistance, but still unable to speak.* 
 
 April 4th. — These convulsions have continued very 
 frequent ever since, but are not of so violent a nature 
 as those which occurred in November last. Their dura- 
 tion varies from five to fifteen minutes; but during the 
 interval she is free from them, the convulsive motion 
 of the diaphragm returns with the convulsive twitchings 
 -as before. The pulse cannot be counted with any cer- 
 tainty, but as far as I can judge from a few pulsations, 
 I think it would not exceed 108 in the minute. Yester- 
 day evening, in endeavouring to get to the night-chair, 
 placed at the side of the sofa, she fell upon the floor 
 and hurt herself. Alvus modice ievatur. 
 
 April 10th. — Continues much the same. The left 
 hand and arm are swelled, and she complains of pain 
 from the shoulder downwards. Sorbuit liberius Infus. 
 Sennae, quod nauseam et vomitum produxit. Alvus 
 libere solvitur. 
 
 April 14th.— Her appetite begins to fail again, the 
 pulse cannot be counted in consequence of the twitch^ 
 ings. Lingua magis faeda. Alvus obstipata. 
 
 April 18th. — Complains of pain in the breast, cross- 
 ing from under one clavicle to the other. Takes little 
 or no food. Alvus constricta. 
 
 Uepr. Pil. Cathartica. 
 
 • He is since dead. 
 
3(r 
 
 April 22d. — Alviis tamen obstipatur. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Hyd. c. jalap, aex. h. s. Si sit oocasio 
 Repr. infus. sennae eras mane. 
 
 April 23d. — Yesterday morning about five o'clock she 
 lost her speech, but is occasionally sensible, and 
 expresses herself by signs, when spoken to. The pills 
 and Infus. Sennae had not been given in sufficient quan- 
 tity to answer any good purpose, from the difficulty of 
 swallowing, and the frequency of the convulsions. The 
 catching in the breathing was more troublesome, and 
 she could not make a full inspiration. She appeared to 
 be gasping for breath. The pain under the left cavicle 
 is very severe. • The slightest pressure upon the tumour 
 in the side produced convulsions. Is more exhausted 
 than before. Mr. Thomas attempted to bleed her in 
 the morning, but the convulsive twitchings were so 
 severe he had much difficulty in opening a vein. H© 
 got a little blood, which had a slightly buffy coat. Fiat 
 V. S. et detr. sang. ^ vi. 
 
 x\bout five ounces of blood were obtained, which was 
 of a bright vermilion colour, with a fair proportion of 
 serum. When it was flowing out of the orifice, Mr. 
 Thomas observed it to be almost of a black colour. Nine 
 o'clock, p. m. She was relieved by the bleeding, but 
 the gasping for breath still continues. The pulsation is 
 so slight as scarcely to be felt in the wrist, the carotid 
 or the temporal arteries. Complains of a sense of great 
 heat internally, and of pain at each side of the head, and 
 under the clavicles, which she described, upon being 
 asked if she felt any particular pain, by placing her 
 hands on each side of her head, and upon the upper 
 part of the breast. Appl. Emp. Lyttye amp. sterno 
 superior!. 
 
36 
 
 April 24th. — The blister has not risen- Her counte- 
 nance looks worse ; the lips are pallid ; there is a blue 
 appearance around the mouth and eyes, and the latter 
 seem more sunk in the head. Mr. Hughes observed she 
 felt heavier to lift up during this illness than before. 
 The face and body have rather a leucophlegmatic appea- 
 rance, and the extremities pit on pressure in the evening. 
 For the last ten days has taken very little food. The 
 thermometer stood in the room at 70 degrees, the heat 
 of the right hand was 100, of the left 105, between the 
 feet 105, under the tongue 105, near the left clavicle 
 108, and in the left canthus of the left eye 9S degrees. 
 The convulsions continue about five minutes, and the 
 intervals of sensibility are nearly of the same duration. 
 She was this evening very much troubled with hiccough, 
 and Mrs. Hughes says her features were more disturbed 
 last night during the convulsions than usual, and large 
 pits were left in different parts of the face, like the marks 
 made by confluent small pox, which after a little time 
 disappeared, Alvus valdd constricta. 
 
 Rcpr. Mist. CatharC 
 
 April 25th. — The pulse is very variable, and cannot 
 be counted. The swelling of the side extends nearly to 
 the opposite ribs, but is not so elevated in any particular 
 part as it was. Appears to suffer great uneasiness ; she 
 cannot swallow any bread or solid food ; a teaspoonful of 
 liquid can only be taken at a time, and that will hardly 
 pass down. She cannot thrust the tongue out of the 
 mouth without bringing on the convulsive action of the 
 diaphragm. The heat of the thermometer in the mouth, 
 neck, and hands, was 92 degrees. The mercurial plaster 
 was omitted, as the gums are slightly affected. 
 
 Dr. Drake and Dr. Langston, from America, attended; 
 
37 
 
 me in my visit to-day. From the reports circulated in 
 the New York papers, and extracts from Messrs. Sandars 
 and others, Dr. Drake supposed the whole affair res- 
 pecting- Miss M*A\^oy, an imposition. Dr. Drake and 
 Dr. Langston, although they had no opportunity of prov- 
 ing her powers, I have reason to think, went away with 
 an impression very different from that expressed to me 
 before they saw her. 
 
 April 26th. — Is less sensible to-day. The pulse in the 
 wrist is rarely to be felt ; the convulsions are more fre- 
 quent than before ; and the intervals, when the affection 
 of the Diaphragm comes on, are shorter. Sordescent 
 Valde lingua, os, et deotes. 
 
 April 27th. — Continues much the same, but weaker ; 
 although, now and then, she answers a question by sign, 
 is generally unable to do so. 
 
 April 28th. — Is not worse, and has swallowed about 
 half a teacupful of black currant tea, and a little 
 sugar and water since last night. The Pulse varied from 
 120 to 132: I counted it at two different times in the wiist, 
 and in the left carotid artery ; for five seconds only in 
 the forirer, the Pulse beat at the rate of 120 pulsations in 
 the minute, in the latter at 1»S2. Per aliquot dies non ha- 
 buit alvi dejeetionem. 
 
 .Hl Hydr. submur. gr. x. Cap. «tatira e conserve quolibet. 
 
 April 29th. — She had two convulsions during my visit, 
 each of about fifteen minutes duration. The interval 
 between them was four minutes. I could not count the 
 pulse. There was a peculiarly quick motion of the 
 upper eyelids from above downwards, and the eyes roll- 
 ed to and fro. Tbe thermometer in the hand was 102 ; 
 
near the clavicle 104, and between the feet 98 degrees. 
 She is occasionally seized with spasms affecting the upper 
 part of the left breast. I sat by her for half an hour, 
 until Mr. Hughes spoke to me. She did not seem to be 
 aware I was in the room ; indeed she scarcely attempted 
 to open her eyes. Was insensible when I entered the 
 room. Non respondit hydr. submur. 
 
 May 2d. — The convulsions continue. Her appetite is 
 improved ; complains of the pain between the left cla- 
 vicle, and the sternum being very violent ; is much 
 thinner, but her countenance is more healthy. Alvus 
 solvitur, et urina coloris fusci redditur libera. 
 
 May 5th. — Complains of a shooting pain, from the up- 
 per part of the breast, extending along each jaw, through 
 the temples, to the crown of the head She is frequently 
 seized with spasms. When these come on, the left hand is 
 pressed strongly upon the left clavicle, and the right 
 hand upon the right side of the head. The twitchings 
 are rather more violent: has taken little food to-day. 
 Alvus soluta ; urina benigne elicitur. 
 
 May 10th. — The convulsions come on about every half 
 hour ; the pain continues violent near the clavicle, and 
 in the left side; upon the whole, however, she appears 
 more cheerful. Has lately learnt in a very short time to 
 converse with the fingers, by which means she can ex- 
 plain herself better than by signs to those who under- 
 stand this mode of expression. Pulse 180. Lingua pura, 
 et OS, et gingivae. 
 
 May 18th. — I was called out of town on the 1 1th, and 
 did not see Miss M'Avoy until this morning. It appears 
 the convulsions left her on the 13th : the pain under the 
 
89 
 
 clavicle and sternum is considerably relieved, but she 
 still feels a sense of weight. The convulsive motions erf 
 the Diaphragm and catching in the breathing, as well as 
 the twitching of the muscles, are much better. Com- 
 plains of pain in the lower part of the abdomen : the 
 legs and feet swell much at night, and the right hand is 
 larger than the left. The tumour in the left side in- 
 creases and is acutely sensible. She feels an almost con- 
 stant throbbing in it, and a pain extending along the 
 muscles of the neck, and through the head, in different 
 directions. Since Monday last, she has been removed to 
 an arm-chair in the day-time, but can neither walk nor 
 stand. On Thursday Jast, she recovered her speech, 
 but complains of much pain in speaking; particularly if 
 she speak louder than a whisper. There was a slight, 
 but irregular contraction in the pulse. Mrs. Hughes 
 observed her to be very low spirited, but she was able to 
 sew. Twice, however, siie was obliged to rip up a frock, 
 having sewed the wrong side outwards. She cannot name 
 a colour. Pulse varying during my visit, from 92 to 120* 
 Alvus liquatur. Urina modice redditur coloris naturalis. 
 
 June 3rd. — Since the last report, the symptons have 
 continued much the same. The pulse varied from 108 
 to 120. To-day she complains of the convulsive motion 
 of the Diaphragm being more troublesome, and this ef- 
 fect is generally brought on when the side is examined. 
 The swelling increases according to her feelings ; 
 this increase has not been very perceptible to me for 
 some time, but I have rather thought it stationary. It 
 extends more towards the back and loins. The feet and 
 legs are more swelled in the evening, but in the morn- 
 ing this swelling is considerable. 
 
 June 12th. — The anasarcous swelling of the feet and 
 
m 
 
 legs, and of the hands and arms is much increased. The 
 former are tense, have a shining inflamed appearance, 
 and there is a general sense of fulness over the whole 
 body, and of oppression in breathing. The pain in the 
 head, and in the sockets of the eyes is greater, and the 
 eyelids are tumified and inflamed : when she attempts to 
 put out her tongue, she cannot protrude it more than a 
 line or two beyond the teeth, as the convulsive affection 
 comes on instantly, and prevents the further protrusion. 
 Pulse 120. Fiat v. s. et Detr. sang, e brachio 5 vi. ad 5 
 viii. 
 
 June 13, — She was relieved by the bleeding: the blood 
 was cupped, but not bufl'y. The hands and arms are less 
 swelled, and the tenseness and shining redness of the legs 
 are diminished considerably. The sense of fulness, 
 and of oppression in the breathing, is better. 1 was ac- 
 companied in my visit by Dr. Sherwin of Bath. 
 
 June 22d.— Has continued much the same for some 
 days past, but complains now of more pain in the head 
 of throbbing and pain in the side, and of oppression in 
 the chest. If the swelled legs or feet are pressed upon, 
 in the slightest degree, she suffers excessive pain. Pulse 
 120, and irregular. Ah us et urina liberae. 
 Repr. V. S. et. detr. Sang. ' vi. ad J viii. 
 
 Six ounces of blood were taken away, which afforded 
 considerable relief. It had a very buffy coat. 
 
 June 26th. — Complains very much of oppression in 
 the chest, and the convulsive motion returns very often, 
 but more slightly than formerly. It exhausts her very 
 much, and she has apparently no wish to employ her- 
 self as usual. Pulse 120. Mr. Thomas being absent 
 
41 
 
 I took about seven ounces of blood from the arm 
 which immediately gave relief. 
 
 June 27th. — I found her much better than for some 
 time past. The oppression of the chest and convulsive 
 motion are removed, and the legs and feet are much 
 reduced in size. The blood was extremely buffy and 
 cupped. Pulse from 104 to 120. Nocte ultimo menses 
 superveniebant, et nunc in quantitate idonea adsunt. 
 Alvus astricta. 
 
 Repr. Infus. Scnnse, u. a. 
 
 June 28th. — The oppression in the breathing has 
 returned slightly. Pulse 120. She has not taken the 
 infusion of senna ; oil-case strips had been rolled round 
 the legs some days ago, and with apparently good effect 
 in reducing the swelling. Heri vespere disparuerunt 
 menses. 
 
 June 30th. — I found her worse to-day. Mr. Thomas 
 was again engaged, and I took about five ounces of blood 
 from the arm, with almost immediate relief. The blood 
 had a buffy appearance. Pulse 120, and irregular. 
 Alvus constricta. 
 
 Repr. Infuse Sennae. u. a. 
 
 July 2d. — The convulsive affection again returned, 
 and she complains of much pain in the head. She suc- 
 ceeded in putting out the tongue a line or two further 
 than before, but the convulsive motion came on, and 
 forced her to desist from protruding it. Pulse 120 to 
 144. Alvus libere solvitur. 
 
 July 3d.~I took about four ounces of blood from 
 the left aripj and she was again relieved from the unplea- 
 
 F 
 
42 
 
 •ant symptoms of oppression in breathing', and of the 
 convulsive twitchings. The swelling 'of the legs 
 decreases every day. 
 
 July 4th. — Continues better. The blood was slightly 
 buffy, but not cupped. Pulse 108 to 120. She thrust 
 out the tongue just over the lip, but the convulsive 
 motion came on, or I think she would have been able to 
 liave protruded it further. 
 
 July 7th. — Complains of more violent head-ache. 
 The convulsive affection and the oppression in breath- 
 ing have returned. During the last night she had seme 
 sleep, but attended with dreams of so horrid a nature, 
 that she did not feel refreshed, but on the contrary wea- 
 kened and distressed by it. The legs and feet are 
 tnore anasarcous. Mr. Thomas saw her yesterday, and 
 he says the pulse was as low as 70, irregular, and inter- 
 mitting. He bled her to-day, and obtained about six 
 ounces of blot)d. She nearly fainted before her arm 
 was tied up. The convulsive motion ceased. Pulse 
 from 108 to 120, feeble and irregular before, but, after 
 the bleeding, more regular, soft, and at the same tim« 
 fuller, and in frequency 120. Alvus suppressa. 
 
 Repr. Infus. Sennse, u. a. 
 
 iJuly 8th. — The blood taken yesterday was not buffy, 
 but slightly cupped in the second cup. She is better ; 
 the convulsive affection and the oppression in the breath- 
 ing did not occur, but when she attempted to protrud-e 
 the tongue. The right eye is slightly suffused with 
 blood, and the eyelids are inflamed and tumlGed. I threw 
 the solar spectra strongly and repeatedly upon the ball 
 of each eye without making her blink. Complains of 
 
43 
 
 heat and irritation of the eyelids. Pulse 120. Alvus 
 et urina naturales. 
 
 July 9th. — Hora secunda matutina superveniebant 
 vomitus et diarrhsea, hora octava post cessantes. 
 
 SsRpe singultiens debilitatur valde. Materiesejecta, de 
 pomis terrae, constitit, et fragis, de quibus, acri appetitu, 
 edit. Fluidum coloris aeruginosi dein vomitu reddidit. 
 
 There is no diminution in the tumour, and the pain 
 is not relieved. Complains of frequent shivering-s dur- 
 ing the day. The pulse is very irregular, varying from 
 130 to 1 60 pulsations in the minute. Employs herself, 
 when able, in sewing and making paper crosses, but 
 cannot distinguish a single colour. Mrs. Hughes, at my 
 request, applied the solution of Belladonna to the eye^ 
 lids, as she had seen it done by Mr. Brandreth, at nine 
 o'clock, but at half-past one o'clock it had no effect in di- 
 lating the pupil. 1 applied it again over the upper eye- 
 lids and eyebrows, but it produced no effect during my 
 stay. I observed a very frequent motion of the eyelids 
 and eyebrows, and the ball of the eye moved to and fro 
 several times very qnickly, which she attributed to the 
 noise occasioned by two carts passing by, 
 
 July loth. — Is very unwell, and complains of increased 
 weakness, inclination to faint, and pain in the head, 
 with numbness over the temples and lower orbit of the 
 eye. The bowels are relaxed. On enquiring from Mrs. 
 Hughes, respecting the effect of the Belladonna, she 
 thought the pupils did appear rather more enlarged than 
 in the morning when I was there, but to-day there is no 
 greater appearance of dilatation than usual, nor does 
 the pupil contract upon exposure to sudden light in thji 
 
44 
 
 least degree. I recommended Mrs. Hughes to give Miss 
 M*Avo} a few drops of spirit. Lavand. comp. With spirit. 
 Ammon. comp7in a little water, occasionally to relieve 
 the faintishness. Pulse varying from 144 to 168, feeble 
 and irregular. 
 
 July 11th. — Is worse, and complains of the pain and 
 pulsation in the leftside. The pulse is not so irregular 
 or feeble as yesterday, but 140 in the minute. The diffi- 
 culty of respiration is increased with occasional attacks 
 of the convulsive motion of the Diaphragm. Speaking 
 seemed to bring on the convulsive motion more fre- 
 quently. Fresh strips of oil-case were applied to the 
 legs. Alvus liquatur. 
 
 July 12th. — The symptoms are worse. The pulse 
 from 132 to 140, and more feeble than yesterday. Mr. 
 Thomas took about five ounces of blood from the right 
 arm. The difficult respiration was immediately reliev- 
 ed, and the convulsive motion ceased. The pulse after 
 bleeding fell to 108. Her appetite is very indifferent. 
 The legs and feet are less swelled. 
 
 July I3th. — The blood in the first cup had a very 
 thick and firm buff upon it. It was cupped, and the 
 brim of the cup of blood was of the brightest vermilion 
 colour; the rest of the crassamentum was of good con- 
 sistence, and the blood was of a dark red colour, bor- 
 dering upon black. In the second cup the buffy coat 
 was somewhat less thick, but firm, and the blood was 
 ef a pale variegated pink and dead white colour. The 
 serum was of a muddy whitish colour. During the 
 afternoon of yesterday she continued much better, but 
 to-day the difficult respiration returned with a slight 
 convulsive affection. I examined her side ; it appeared 
 
45 
 
 -iomewhat more enlarged than when I saw it last. Th^' 
 fatigue produced, by undressing herself, so as to allow 
 an examination of the tumour, always hurries her very 
 much, and the very slight touch I gave the tumour, in 
 its most raised part, produced faintishness, which induc- 
 ed me to defer another bleeding until the afternoon. 
 The pulse was very irregular, varying from 122 to 144 
 in the minute. Complains of cold shiverings attacking 
 her at different times in the day. 
 
 July 14th. — Mr. Nairn, in the absence of Mr. Thomas, 
 bled Miss M'Avoy yesterday evening. The blood was 
 buffy in the first cup, slightly so in the second, and 
 cupped with a vermilion colour in the brim of the 
 cupped- blood, as in the last bleeding. About half-way 
 down the sides, and all round this cup of blood to the 
 same depth, the colour varied from a bright purple 
 colour to a pale pink, when it assumed the deep red 
 colour bordering upon black, with a firm consistence, 
 and with serum of the appearance of muddy whey. 
 Mr. Kairn mentioned, before I had seen the blood, there 
 was a pigment of a green colour at the bottom of the 
 cup : 1 perceived it also, but, upon separating the serum 
 from the crassamentum, this colour disappeared, proba- 
 bly by its union with the serum, as it was poured off into 
 another cup ; or could the appearance or sudden disap- 
 pearance of this greenish colour be accounted for by 
 any deceptio visus ? or did it really exist as a component 
 part of the mass? It certainly had not appeared before 
 in any of the cups into which blood had been drawn. 
 The bleeding again relieved the unpleasant symptoms of 
 difficult respiration and convulsive affection. The swel- 
 ling of the legs had very much subsided. Pulse 122. 
 Mr. Nairn counted them before at 146. She could not 
 protrude the tongue without bringing on the con?"ulsive 
 
46 
 
 motion, which arrested its farther protrusion. She has 
 lately complained of a noise like the beating of a drum, 
 when she leans her head upon the right side. It appears 
 to be at the distance of four or five inches. If she leans 
 her head on the left, a faintish sensation comes over her. 
 If her head falls down in the arm-chair, she cannot raise 
 herself withopt assistance. Alvus suppressa. 
 
 July 16th. — Is very poorly this morning. The diffi- 
 culty of breathing came on yesterday, and is very trou- 
 blesome. Pulse 144 ; variable and low. Mr. Thomas 
 not being in the way, I requested Mr. Dale, who was 
 present, to take away some blood ; about five ounces 
 were abstracted from the right arm, when she became 
 faint, but was immediately relieved from the urgency of 
 the other symptoms. The pulse became fuller, more 
 distinct, and 120 in the minute. 
 
 July 17th. — The blood was very bufify, and cupped in 
 both cups. There was no vermilion colour upon the 
 brim of the cupped blood, as noticed before, but the 
 green pigment was visible at the bottom of the teacup. 
 Upon pouring out the serum, this colour disappeared. 
 She appears low to-day. The legs are less swelled, but 
 there is generally a leucophlegmatic appearance about 
 the face and body ; she takes little or no food. Pulse 
 120. Alvus iterum liquatur. 
 
 July 19th.— Appears much better. The convulsive 
 twitching only occurred once during my visit, in conse- 
 quence of an attempt to shew me her tongue. Pulse 
 from 108 to 120. The right leg discharged a consider- 
 able quantity of serous fluid, and they were both dimi- 
 nished in size. Heri menses iterum superveniebant, et 
 hodie in quantitate idonea adsunt. Alvus soluta ; urina 
 modice reddita. 
 
47 
 
 July 20th. — The oppression in the breathing:, and the 
 convulsive twitchings returned in a slight degree. 
 Pulse from 108 to 120. Ultima nocte disparuerunt 
 menses. 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 July 21st. — Seven ounces of blood were taken away. 
 The blood was buffy and cupped in the first but not in 
 the second cup, and the loss of it evidently relieved her. 
 The green pigment was not observed in either of the 
 cups. 
 
 July 22d. — The former symptoms have again returned, 
 and she complains of general irritation and uneasinesF. 
 The Pulse varies from 108 to 120. Her appetite is very 
 bad, taking no solid, and scarcely any fluid food. Straw- 
 berries have been her principal diet for some time, and 
 she now occasionally takes a few ripe gooseberries. 1 
 proposed that Mr. Thomas should bleed her in the after- 
 noon, but as she expressed a wish to have it done imme- 
 diately, I passed a tillet round the arm in the usual man- 
 ner, and tied it, when she gave a start, as if it pained her. 
 Upon asking her if the start was occasioned by the tight- 
 ness of the ligature, she said it was not. I proposed, 
 however to loosen it, to which she objected with a laugh. 
 Her head then fell suddenly forward on my breast, and 
 she was evidently insensible. After laying her head 
 gently upon the chair, I loosened the fillet, and a violent 
 hysteric attack succeeded, followed by convulsion, from 
 which she recovered, but she lost the power of speech. 
 The oppression and catching in the breathing, and the 
 convulsive motion recurred with more violence, and as 
 she expressed, by sign, a wish to be bled, I again tied up 
 the right arm, but was foiled in my attempt of bleeding 
 her, by the numerous cicatrices which were not perfectly 
 
-48 
 
 bealed. After a second effort, I succeeded in obtaining^ 
 about two ounces of blood, by a very confined stream. 
 The blood, after standing some time, did not exhibit any 
 buffy coat, but a larger proportion of serum than usual. 
 The right side became paralytic. I visited Miss M*Avoy 
 in the evening ; she was sensible, but violently agitated, 
 by repeated efforts to vomit, but nothing was expelled 
 from the mouth but saliv^a of a frothy nature. Now and 
 then a very offensive smell issued from the mouth. She 
 grew every moment worse. The inspirations formerly 
 were seldom, if ever completed, when the oppression 
 or catching in the breathing came on. Now they are 
 deeply made, loud and sonorous as the expirations ; to be 
 compared only to that breathing which sometimes indi- 
 cates the approach of death. The suspension of breath- 
 ing occasionally intervened, succeeded by strong ef- 
 forts to recover her breath, which brought into violent 
 action, the muscles of the throat, chest, diaphragm, and 
 abdomen. The pulse could only be counted for a very 
 short period before it flagged, and it varied in frequency, 
 from 12 to 18 pulsations in five seconds of time ; indeed 
 she appeared so much exhausted that any one would have 
 supposed her in the agony of death. She was some 
 time, however, sensible, and 1 thought it a proper op- 
 portunity to ask her if she had the least glimmering of 
 sight; she shook her head as a mark of dissent. My 
 own opinion of her blindness has been confirmed by 
 repeated experiments, and I asked the question more for 
 the satisfaction of the sceptical upon this point, than of 
 my own, as it might be supposed at such a period, she 
 would not deceive. The only hope I had of her reco- 
 very, arose from the probability of the tumour having 
 burst and discharged itself by one of the usual outlets. 
 Aivus modice soluta. 
 
49 
 
 July 23d. — Labours under very oppressive breathing. 
 The inclination to vomit is gone off; appears almost 
 constantly convulsed and insensible. Pulse from 120 
 to 144, very irregular, but fuller than one would expect 
 under the circumstances of the case. The skin has a 
 clammy moisture upon it. Alvus astricta. 
 
 July 24th.— Mr. Thomas was called up last night. All 
 the symptoms were increased in violence, so that he had 
 little hope of her surviving the night. She appears weaker, 
 but the breathing is not so oppressive and laborious as 
 yesterday. Continues very much convulsed. The pulse 
 can be felt, but not counted. Urina naturalis semilibram 
 redidit hodid. 
 
 I visited her again in the evening. There was little al- 
 teration in the symptoms. She swallowed a tea-spoon- 
 ful of fluid, with great difficulty. The svvelling of the 
 legs and feet has entirely subsided. Mrs. Hughes says 
 she is occasionally sensible, but I did not perceive it dur- 
 ing my visit. Iterum urinae eandem quantitatem dedit 
 hac vespere. Lingua scabra, subflava, et arida, cum ore 
 adusto. 
 
 Dr. Baird of Glasgow, and his brother were present 
 to-day. 
 
 July 25th. — Is rather better, but still the breathing is 
 laborious and oppressive. She does not appear sensible, 
 nor can she swallow any fluid, li ran out of the mouth 
 when given to her. The pulse is very irregular. It ra- 
 ther exceeded 120, but I could not count it with certainty. 
 Dr. Baird of Glasgow, his two brothers, Mr. Dale, and 
 ^r. Thomas w^ere present. The side was examined : the 
 
 G 
 
50 
 
 tumour had evidently subsided, but still the slightest pres- 
 sure caused violent agitation. Urinse redidit semilibram. 
 
 Mrs. Hughes was much offended at my making this 
 very slight pressure, on account of the pain it gave her 
 daughter: she even shed tears, but was roused by some 
 observations tending to find fault with her conduct, in 
 speaking: of convulsion before her daughter ; and of the 
 general effect of such observations in irritable disposi- 
 tions. We had some difficulty in appeasing her, as the 
 language appeared to convey a reflection that she was 
 not doing all she could, to combat the disease of her 
 daughter, or was conniving at imposition. Upon this 
 point it is hardly to be wondered at, if she should feel 
 very sore, as the assertions which have been made by 
 numbers, however false she may know them to be, can- 
 not be otherwise than unpleasant to her feelings, more 
 particularly as from the observations of Dr Baird, it was 
 evident that he suspected imposition. 
 
 Six o'clock p. m. — I found Miss M'Avoy much better, 
 about four o'clock she was seized with nausea, and after- 
 wards with vomiting. The matter thrown up consisted 
 of a watery fluid, tinged with a pink colour, most proba- 
 bly from two or three gooseberries she had taken before 
 the nausea began, and some bits of apple. It was in the 
 whole rather more than a pint. She was quite sensible, 
 but appeared considerably emaciated in her general ap- 
 pearance. The eyes were hollow, with a dark rim sur- 
 rounding the lower orbit. Had the vacant stare of blind- 
 ness, well marked. Was able to take a little coffee, with 
 bread and butter : complained of flatulence. Repr. 
 Infus. Sennoe. 
 
 July 26th. — The laborious respiration is again return- 
 
51 
 
 ©d, but in a more moderate degree. Pulse 120 to 144, 
 In the evening she was much worse, which I attributed 
 to her having eaten lamb and green peas, to her dinner. 
 I desired Mr. Thomas to give her a desert spoonful of 
 vio. Ipecac, every ten minutes, until it operated. Alvus 
 lihere solvitur sed nihil purulenti in faecibus apparebat.J 
 
 July 27th. — The emetic operated well, and she threw 
 up what she had eaten in the day, and some gruel taken 
 after the emetic had been given. There was not the least 
 appearance of any purulent matter in that which was 
 thrown up. The laborious breathing continues in a 
 slight degree. Pulse 120. 
 
 July 28th. — Is considerably better in every respect. 
 Portrema nocte, urinae uncias tres, puris continentis 
 aliquantum, coloris floris lactis, redidit. Observata fuit 
 sanguinis guttula urinam iunatans, brevi, quae, tempore, 
 disparuit, 
 
 She is seized occasionally with shivering. The 
 swelling and pain extend now more towards the spine, 
 near the depending points of the shoulder blades, with 
 frequent throbbing, but she has considerable pain under 
 the short ribs, extending up to the left clavicle and 
 shoulder. Pulse 120. Alvus soluta. 
 
 July 29th.— The legs are slightly swelled. She has 
 recovered the use of the right arm, but not of the side. 
 The swelling is evident to the eye on the left side of the 
 breast, but is not near so painful upon pressure, as on 
 the left side of the upper part of the abdomen. Alvus 
 dejicitur, sed dura. Libert redidit urinam pus 
 alicujus momenti continentem. 
 
 Repr. Infus, Sennae, u. a» 
 
62 
 
 July SOth. — Continues much the same, but is occasion- 
 ally seized with violent spasms in the left side, extend- 
 ing from the false ribs to the breast, as high as the left 
 clavicle. She has recovered her speech, but cannot 
 protrude her tong-ue, without bringing on the spasmodic 
 affection. Pulse 108. Redidit urinam iterum liberius 
 sine pure.^ 
 
 * Baird, medicus ingeniosus Glasguae pus defluere cum urina dubitavit, 
 CO quod parca erat quantitas, et uriive faeces simulabat superficies. Quum 
 banc urinam vidit i!le per dies tres reddita fuit, et lactis floris colorem, e 
 faecibus urinac cum pure commistis, perdidit. 
 
 Urina eadem, cum sedimento, ad nosocomium nostrum monstrata, opini- 
 onem huic Loctoris Baird, quidam consortes mei periti, baud dissimilem, 
 dederunt. F.xp.?rimenta tamen post facta sententiam mcam ratam babue- 
 runt. Die postero, praesentibus memet, medico-chirurgis praclaris Nairn 
 et Thomas, et Grindrod juveni ingenioso, nosocomii nostri alumno, pbiala 
 agitata, dispcrsa fuit per urinam materies suprad'cta, et quieta in fundum 
 decidit. Urina effusa, per aquam agitata et lavata per tertias vices, subjectum 
 fuit residuum dcposituin experimentis sequentibus. 
 
 Exp. 1. Acidi nitrici pauxillum in portionem materiae affundcbatur, 
 efFervescentiam fortem producens ; dein perlucidus fit liquor, pallidi colorisj, 
 fere subfusci, et subflavi. Addita aqua, eodem tempore, praecipitatio nulla, 
 sed sequente die, subalbida cvenit. 
 
 Exp. 2. Acidum sulphuricum alteram super partem infudi, efFervescentiam 
 excitans lacvissimam, colorem subfuscum et purpurcum ostendens : aqua 
 liquorem affusa statim praecipitationem non indicabat; paulo pjst, mistura 
 frigescente, praecipitatio fit. 
 
 Exp. 3. Residuo bujusce paululo, cum aquae additione, argenti nitratipaux- 
 iUum addebatur ; fragminum praecipitatio subalbidorum statim sequebatur ; 
 proximo die praecipitatio purpurascit ; liquor pereolatus per bibulam chartani 
 nauseosus gustabat vald '. 
 
 Ext. 4. Portio altera cum solutione potassae carbonatis saturata mista fuit ; 
 addita aqua, fragminum praecipitatio subalbida decidebat : postero die obscu- 
 rior evasit. 
 
 Exp. 5. Cum aqua ammoniae purae materia commista evenit nulla praecipi- 
 tatio; sed exinde vapores volatiles magisquam paulo olficerunt pungentiores. 
 
 Exp. 6. Iji partem residui alteram spiritus vini rectificatus atfusus se spis- 
 savit ; sed post hebdonadem magis fluidum et putidum evadebat. 
 
 Exp. 7- Oleo olivae optimo portio commista ultima, non soluta, sed per ole- 
 um in guttulis dispersa fuit. Ex hisce experimentis pus esse cum urina 
 depositum plane apparebit, et ea, quae, diversis vicibus, post fagta fuerunt, 
 opinionem eandem confimjabant. 
 
53 
 
 July 31st. — Continues much the same. Pulse 108 
 1o 120. Alvus soluta. 
 
 August 3d. — Cum viscerum dolore, nunc urget diarr- 
 hoea, forsan, e fructibus nimis injestis, ariens, de quibus, 
 constat prseeipuum alimentum suum. 
 
 Capt. Tinct. Rhei. 5 ss. statim, et dein, si sit occasio 
 Tinct. opii. gtts. xv. ex aquae pauxillo, quarta quaque hora ad diarrhoeam 
 sistendam. 
 
 August 19th.--The convulsive catchingand oppres^on 
 in the breathing are considerably diminished. The swell- 
 ing of the left side continues with the most acute sensi- 
 bility upon the slightest pressure. Vexat aegram diarr- 
 hoea ve! obstipatio, plus minusve, sexdecem diebusabhinc. 
 Laudano absorpto obstipatio evenit, et laxantibus opus 
 fuit. Si urgebat diarrhsea e contrario laudano usa fuit. 
 
 Mr George Bell, Surgeon, of Edinburgh, attended me 
 in my visit to-day ; he examined the eyes, and observed 
 the contraction of the pupil to be very considerable, but 
 the dilatation did not take place so freely. I parsed my 
 hand suddenly across the eyes when she winked, which 
 was accidental ; the finger, pointed suddenly towards the 
 eyes, in different ways, did nojt make her blink. Upon 
 examining the side, she shrank before the finger was ap- 
 plied, but I had expressed my intention of pressing 
 gently upon the tumour before its application. The 
 pressure was extremely slight ; the pulse rose at the rate 
 of from 120 to 144 pulsations in the minute. Mr. G. 
 Bell gave me his opinion that she must see. 
 
 August 22nd. — Catharticus her\ acceptus nil profuit, 
 $ed nausea superveniebat usque fere ad vomendum. 
 
 Capt. Vin. Ipcc. Coch. majus quaque semihora donee voimtum excitet* 
 
54: 
 
 August 23d.— She is better. Pulse 1 12. I requested 
 Mr. Thomas to apply the solution of Hyoscyamus over 
 the eyelids and eyebrows at bed-time. Respondit bene 
 emeticus. Nausea tamen per horas tres mansit, denuo 
 lactis tepidi sublavata haustu. 
 
 August 25th.— Complains of considerable pain in the 
 fore part of the he^d. Mr. Thomas informed me the 
 Hyoscyamus dilated the pupils only very slightly, but 
 he observed the contraction upon exposure to a lighted 
 candle to be greater than he had ever seen it. Upon 
 exposing the pupils this morning to a lighted candle, the 
 contraction was hardly perceptible. Pulse 116. Alvus 
 liquatur. 
 
 August 27th. — The Belladonna was applied last nighty 
 and this morning, to the eyelids and eyebrows. The 
 right pupil was dilated to above one -third of the whole 
 Iris. The pupil of the right eye, when we first examin- 
 ed it was of an oval form, from above downwards ; after 
 some time it resumed the more circular form. The dila? 
 tation was greater in the right than in the left eye, 
 Upon exposure to a lighted candle, the pupils contract- 
 ed, but not to so great a degree as after the application 
 of the Hyoscyamus. Dolor cum obstipatione visccrunx 
 adest. 
 
 "O Magwes. sulph. r Hi. 
 
 Repr. dosis haecce, si sit occ^sio« 
 secunda quaque hora, donee sit alvus bene soluta. 
 
 September 6th. — The convulsive twitching is very 
 troublesome, and she appears very ill. Dr. Hannay and 
 his brother-in-law Mr. Cockburn, Surgeon, of Edin- 
 burgh, accompanied me in my vjsit. The side was 
 examined, and the enlargement was very evident. The 
 
65 
 
 eyes were also examined. Pulse 120. As Mr. Thomas was 
 engaged, Mr. Cockburn kindly offered his services to 
 bleed her, and about seven ounces of blood were taken 
 away. It had a more watery appearance than usual. 
 The convulsive twitching was almost immediately reliev- 
 ed, and the pulse reduced from 108 to 96. Alvus inter- 
 dum liquatur, dein constringitur. 
 
 September 9th. — Complains of increased pain in the 
 fore and back part of the head ; of trembling and weak- 
 ness. The convulsive twitching and oppression in the 
 breathing are increased in violence. Pulse 108 to 120. 
 
 Capt. Tinct. Digital, gtts, v ter de die ex aquae pauxillo. 
 
 September 10th. — The (ineture of Foxglove occasion- 
 ed sickness. The dose was reduced to three drops. 
 Appears very unwell, and her spirits are very low. Alvus 
 libera. 
 
 September 13th. The twitchings were relieved by- 
 Mr. Thomas having taken yesterday evening about six 
 ounces of blood ; the blood was not buffy, but cupped. 
 The serum was of a milky whey colour^ and in consider- 
 able proportion to the coagulum. 
 
 September 15th. — The twitchings are more frequent. 
 The foxglove was omitted as it still produced sickness, 
 and she did not seem to derive any benefit from it. Pulse 
 very irregular and frequent. It beat at one time at the 
 rate of 168 pulsations in the minute. 
 
 September 18th. Six ounces of blood were taken 
 from the arm ; it was cupped, but not buffy ; it relieved 
 her very much. Pulse 120. 
 
 September 21st. - In attempting to reach something 
 
56 
 
 with her hand, she crossed it over the breast, aad brought 
 on the convulsive spasm, and a sense of sulTocation, 
 which were relieved, upon restoring the hand to its pro- 
 per situation. Complains of pahi in the right hypochon- 
 drium. Mr. Thomas was desired to bleed Miss M'Avoy 
 in the afternoon, but he did not succeed. 
 
 September 23d. — Mr, Thomas obtained eight ounces of 
 blood of a bright red colour. The blood in the first cup 
 was slightly bufFy and cupped ; and in the second it was 
 only cupped. The coagulum was firm in consistence, 
 and the serum clearer than usual. The green pigment 
 was visible in the first, but not in the second cup. Nausea 
 valde urget. Alvus liquatur ; urinam reddidit coloris 
 naturalis, et in quantitate idonea, 
 
 September 25th. — Complains of great pain in the 
 right side, and the swelling of the left side evidently in- 
 creases. The more violent symptoms were relieved by 
 the bleeding. Is troubled with cough. Pulse 120. Alvus 
 soluta. 
 
 September 27th. — Complains of difficulty of breathing, 
 and of the convulsive twitching, with great pain in both 
 sides. Alvus dejicitur; urina parca et cum dolore red- 
 ditur. 
 
 Fiat. V. S. et detr. Sanguinis e brachio ^ vi. ad 5 viiL 
 
 September 28. — Eight ounces of blood were taken 
 away. It was very much cupped and bufFy in the first 
 cup ; the vermilion coloured border was very beautiful. 
 The serum had a milky appearance. The difficulty of 
 breathing was relieved, as well as the cough. 
 
 September 201 h — The convulsive twitchings were 
 
57 
 
 more violent, and Mr. Thomas again took six ounces of 
 blood, cupped, bufiFy, and with the vermilion coloured 
 circle, but not so bright as before. The bleeding re- 
 lieved her, but she appeared very low spirited, and 
 complained more of the pain and throbbing in the tu- 
 mour. Pulse 120. 
 
 Oct. 1st. — Seems very ill. Her countenance is chang- 
 ed materially for the worse. She has taken little or no 
 food for several days. The convulsive twitchings are 
 again violent. Pulse 120, and rather feeble. Alvus 
 astricta. 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 October 2d. — Six ounces of blood were obtained, cup- 
 ped and bulFy, having the vermilion coloured circle ; the 
 serum was pellucid, and the green colour at the bottom 
 of the cup was very perceptible. Complained last night 
 of violent pain in the back. She was sometimes convuls- 
 ed in the night, and became insensible this morning : the 
 respiration is laborious. Pulse 144, variable in strength 
 and fulness. Alvus obstipata. Urina pus continens, 
 in matuloe fundum fluitans, reddita fuit modicd. Lingua 
 focda, et os ; sordibus oneratai gingivae, 
 
 October 3d. — Appears for the most part insensible 
 with convulsive twitchings. Can take only a tea-spoonful 
 of fluid at a time. Her mother thinks her sensible, as 
 she makes a sign occasionally, for the mouth to be wet- 
 ted. Pulse 152, variable in strength. Reddidit urinam 
 boni coloris sine pure. Non habuit alvidejectionem. 
 
 October 4th. — Is quite sensible, but cannot speak. In 
 the night was seized with a violent spasm, which conti- 
 nued for some time, and afterwards she felt a sensation as 
 
58 
 
 if something had burst internally. Pulse 132 to 144, 
 more regular and distinct. Urina redditur sine pure. 
 AIvus constipatur. 
 
 Repr. Infus. Sennae, u. a. 
 
 October 5th. — Had not taken the Infus. Sennse. Com- 
 plains of considerable uneasiness in the chest, and is very 
 low. Pulse 120. Alvus tamen astrieta. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Hydr. sub. cum Jalapa. u, a« 
 
 October 6th. — She recovered the use of the arm and 
 side, which have been paralytic for a considerable time. 
 Nausea usque ad vomitum, superveniebat. Alimentum 
 per aliquot dies in ventriculum acceptum, maUconcoctura, 
 ejicitur ; alvus nihilominus solvitur. 
 
 October 7th.— She recovered her speech this morning, 
 and appears much better, but complains of great sore- 
 ness in the side, and of fulness in that part of the tumour 
 adjacent to the back. Pulse 108. Reddidit urinse semi- 
 libram pus tenentis Alvus astrieta. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Hydr. sub. mur. cum Jalap, u £u 
 
 Oct. 8th. — Protruded the tongue a little further than 
 she has done lately, without producing any material 
 pain or spasm. Takes the alkaline medicine with le- 
 mon juice, which now agrees very well. Alvus magis 
 elicitur Urina redditur cum pure. 
 
 Oct. 9th. — Complains of a sense of heat internally, 
 and all over her. Cannot bear the heat of the fire. 
 Has pain and a sense of fulness in the right side, but I 
 felt no particular induration. Pulse 108. 
 
 Oct. lO.-^The face and head are swelled. Pulse 108. 
 
59 
 
 Miss M'Avoy, a day or two ago, described the metal 
 upon a snuff box, correctly, for a lady ; and to-day she 
 said my watch chain was gold as well as my watch. 
 When the watch was examined before, it was attached to 
 a steel chain. I gave her the top of a lancet case, which 
 was silver, she said it was black ; and the gold chain, 
 when given to her again, was black also. Just at the 
 moment the silver case was put into her hand, a slight 
 spasm came on. She was uncovered. 
 
 Oct. 11th. — The face is more swelled, particularly 
 about the jaws. Upon examining the mouth, the gums 
 were spongy, and a mercurial foetor was perceptible. 
 The bolusses must have produced this effect, as she 
 had lately used mercury in no other way. Pulse 120. 
 
 Oct. 12th. — Complains very much of pain in the head, 
 and of being oppressed with heat, both externally and 
 internally. Pulse 132. Alvus obstipata. Urinam red- 
 didit sine pure» 
 
 Oct. 13th.— Is much the same. Pulse 120. Alvu« 
 fiOlvitur. 
 
 Oct. 14th. — The pain of the head is very violent, and 
 the oppression in the breathing increases ; complains of 
 throbbing in the tumour, and occasional shivering. The 
 least noise affects h«r. Her memory is very deficient ; 
 ?she did not recollect what was said by the persons pre- 
 sent yesterday. Pulse 1 12, variable in strength and ful- 
 nessp 
 
 Fiat V. 9. et detr. sang, e brachio J vi ad f viuu 
 
 Oct. 15th. — Mr. Thomas hesitated to bleed her, as the 
 pulse was 160, and occasionally intermitting, but as I 
 
60 
 
 particularly expressed a wish she might be bled, on ac- 
 count of the oppression in her breathing- and convulsive 
 motion, which at the time were very troublesome^ he 
 took eight ounces of blood, which relieved these very 
 unpleasant symptoms, but left her very faint for nearly 
 an hour. The blood was both cupped and huffy. The 
 green pigment was observed in the first cup ; the serum 
 clear and abundant. Pulse from 108 to 120. 
 
 Oct. 20th. — Complains of slight oppression in her 
 breathing, and of considerable weakness, but she ap- 
 pears better with respect to the more unpleasant symp- 
 toms than I had seen her for a considerable time. The 
 tumour in the left side is enlarged, and is excessively pain- 
 ful upon the least pressure. Mr. Nairn, who came in as 
 we were examining it, not recollecting how much she 
 suffered, if it were touched, pressed his finger upon the 
 tumour, and she did not recover its effects during our 
 stay, and for several hours after. The pulse was fuller 
 and more wiry than usual. Mr. Thomas was requested 
 to bleed her in the afternoon. Pulse 120. Alvus soluta. 
 Urina parca. 
 
 My young medical friend, Mr. Thomas Currie, one of 
 the sons of the late lamented Dr. James Currie, attended 
 me in my visit to-day. His attention to the duties of the 
 Hospital, (of which he is atpresenta pupil) and his enqui- 
 ries after useful and scientific information will, I hope, 
 make him an ornament to the profession for which he is 
 intended. 
 
 Oct.. 22nd. — Five ounces of blood were,t^ken away; 
 it was huffy, and had the green colour at the bottom of 
 the cup. Is upon the whole better. Mr. Filkin of North- 
 wich, a meritorious pupil of the Infirmary , accompanied 
 me. Pulse 112. Alvus non soluta; urina libere reddita. 
 
61 
 
 Oct. 25th. — Complains of oppression in breathing and 
 occasional faintishness. The tumour increases. If she 
 lean forward in the least, she is liable to fall upon the 
 floor if not attended to. The pain of the head is very 
 violent Pulse from 100 to 120. About five ounces 
 of blood vi^ere taken away, when she became faint ; but 
 she was relieved by the bleeding. Alvus soluta ; urina 
 libera. 
 
 Fiat V. S. statim. 
 
 Oct. 26th. — The blood was slightly cupped and buffy. 
 The vermilion circle and green pigment were observed, 
 but the serum was of a muddy whey-like appearance. 
 
 Oct. 28th. — Miss M^Avoy was removed in a sedan 
 chair into the country. Her legs and feet were a good 
 deal swollen. She was agitated at the idea of removal. 
 The pulse 120, and tolerably full. The eyes were pecu- 
 liarly bright. She was supported to the chair by her 
 step father; appeared very faint, and her mother in- 
 forms me she continued so, and was apparently un- 
 conscious of her situation during the period of her be- 
 ing carried. 
 
 Oct. 29th. — The effects of being carried in this manner 
 were very perceptible, in an increase of the unpleasant 
 symptoms. As she expressed a strong wish to be bled, and 
 as I thought it the only means of affording her relief, I de- 
 sired Mr. Thomas, or Mr. Tudor, his assistant, to bleed 
 her. Pulse 120, and full. Urina parca ; alvus soluta. 
 
 October 80th. — The blood drawn was about five oun- 
 ces. It was slightly cupped, with the vermilion circle 
 upon the edge, but not buffy. The serum was in a triple 
 or quadruple quantity, to the coagulum. It gave her 
 
62 
 
 almost immediate relief. Body open. Pulse 100. Urina 
 liberiiis redditur. 
 
 November 4th.— The least noise alarms her. At times 
 she does not answer, when questions are asked ; and she 
 then looks quite wild as if she were afraid of something 
 injuring her. Since her arrival in the country, she is 
 more uneasy at night, and frequently in a state of stupor. 
 Pulse 134, and irregular. 
 
 Repr. V. S. et Detr. Sang, quant, idonea. 
 
 Nov. 5th. — The blood drawn was about five ounces, 
 but it had only a very slig^htly buffy coat, having not 
 flown freely from the orifice; it did not relieve her. 
 I requested Mr. Thomas to take six or seven ounces 
 more, which relieved the oppression in breathing, &c. 
 but she felt very weak, and could not sew or thread a 
 needle. Pulse 160 ; after the bleeding it fell to 120. 
 
 November 6th. — She is much better, but complains of 
 weakness ; the blood was buffy and slightly cupped. 
 Pulse 120. Alvus soluta. 
 
 November 9th. — Found her very unwell. Complains 
 of an unpleasant sensation in her head, as if wheels 
 were turning round ; of much uneasiness in the side and 
 breast. Pulse 120. Alvus eonstricta. 
 
 jC> Pulv. Jalap. 
 
 Aloes, soc aa ^ i. 
 
 Syr. Simp. q. s. ut fiat massa in PU. xL dividenda. Capt. iL h. 8. 
 
 Fiat. V. S. et Detr. Sang. ^ vi. 
 
 November 12th. — The blood which was taken on the 
 9th, was buffy. Mr. Thomas bled her again yesterday, 
 to the amount of four ounces, and that blood was very 
 much cupped and buffy. There is a general leucophleg- 
 
63 
 
 niatic appearance about her, and she does not seem so 
 well as I expected to find her. The catching^ in breath- 
 ing is very troublesome. Pulse 144. Alvus obstipata. 
 
 Repr. Pil. et V. & 
 
 November 13th. — Found her better, Mr. Tudor hav- 
 ing taken about six ounces of blood, which was cupped 
 and huffy. 
 
 November I5tb. — Mr. Thomas bled her in conse- 
 quence of a return of the catching in the breathing. 
 
 November 17th. — She was again bled, and the blood 
 had a cupped and huffy appearance. Pulse 120. 
 
 November 19th. — She was bled this morning, and the 
 blood was cupped and slightly huffy, about six ounces 
 were taken away. Pulse 120. 
 
 November 22d. — Mr. Tudor bled her yesterday, and 
 took about eight ounces of blood which was cupped, but 
 not huffy. She complained of a violent pain upon the 
 upper part of the sternum, but the bleeding relieved it. 
 The tumour evidently increases in size. Pulse 120. 
 
 November 23d. — Complains again of the catching in 
 the breathing. Pulse 120. Alvus soluta. Repr. V. S. 
 
 November 24th.^ — Six ounces were obtained. The 
 blood was cupped and huffy. She was a little relieved, 
 but appears weak. 
 
 November 25th. — The unpleasant breathing has, 
 returned. 
 
 Repr. 'SVS, 
 
64 
 
 November 26th. — About five ounces of blood were 
 taken away, which was slightly cupped but not buffy. 
 It came away drop by drop, and does not appear to have 
 relieved her so much as usual. She complains of being 
 swelled all over her ; but the legs are not so much swell- 
 ed as before. Pulse 120. Alvus astricta et urina parca. 
 
 Kepr. V. S. 
 
 November 27th. — Mr. Tudor tx>ok away fully eight 
 ounces of blood, which was cupped but not buffy She 
 obtained considerable relief from it. The serum has been 
 of a dark whey colour in many of the last bleedings, but 
 the crassamentum has been firm. Pulse 120. Alvus 
 constipata. 
 
 Repr. PiL Hydr. submur. Gum jalap. 
 
 November 29th. — Mr. Tudor bled Miss M^Avoy again 
 yesterday, and took away about eight ounces of blood. She 
 was seized with fainting, and afterwards with convulsive 
 twitchings, and to-day she was insensible. Pulse 120 to 
 130 ; has taken little food for some days back. 
 
 November 30th. — She was seized in the same manner 
 n(^arly as in the last attack, but not in so violent a way. 
 Pulse not easily to be counted, but tolerably full, and if 
 one could judge from a few pulsations, not exceeding 
 130 pulsations in the minute. Mrs. Hughes observed the 
 suspension of breathing to take place in the night for 
 about a minute at a time. Takes no food, but sugar 
 and water, and Mrs. Hughes thinks she is at times 
 sensible. The eyes roll to and fro, and sometimes 
 one eye is turned inwards and the other outwards. 
 The laborious breathing is much less than in the last 
 attack. Alvus astricta. Urinse semilibra per viginti 
 qnator ultimas horas reddita fuit. 
 
6& 
 
 Dec. 3d. — Yesterday she became sensible, but could 
 not speak. Complains of the oppression and catching 
 in breathing. Pulse 144. Urina libera. Alvus miniis 
 astricta. 
 
 Dec. 5th. — Pulse variable, and frequent. I counted 
 it at the rate of 156 pulsations in a minute for 15 seconds. 
 She is, however, much better; has recovered her speech. 
 Decembris tertio die, perstante nocte, urinam cum pure 
 reddidit, & heri iterum. Alvus soluta. Redditur urina 
 hodie sine pure. 
 
 Dec. 8th. — She feels an increase of the tumour in the 
 left side. Sulfers considerable uneasiness also from the 
 right side. The oppression and catching in the breath- 
 ing comes on frequently. Complains of pain in the head 
 and in the sockets of the eyes ; takes a little more food, 
 but has now a dislike to coflFee. Pulse 120. Alvus 
 astricta. 
 
 Rcpr. PiL Cathartic, u. a. 
 
 December 10th. — The catching and oppression, in the 
 breathing have returned. Alvus solvitur. Urina natu- 
 ralis redditur. 
 
 December llth. — About six ounces of blood were 
 taken away this morning. She fainted, but when I 
 visited her she was much better, and was engaged in 
 sewing. Pulse 120. The blood was cupped and buflFy. 
 
 December 13th. — Complained of the catching and 
 oppression in the breathing, and of the occasional con- 
 vnlsjive motion of the diaphragm. Her legs and feet 
 swell very much, and are painful to the touch. Pulse 
 120. Urina magis parca. Repr. V. S, 
 
 I 
 
66 
 
 December 16th. — Mr. Tudor got very little blood o» 
 the 1 3th, but yesterday he obtained about seveu ounces, 
 which was cupped and slightly buflfy. The coag-ulum 
 firm, but the serum, in considerable quantity, was of a 
 milky whey colour. Complains of pain in both arms, 
 but particularly in the right, which is swelled, pellucid 
 in appearance, and slightly inflamed, but does not pit 
 upon pressure. Pulse 120. 
 
 December 18th. — The oppression in breathing, and 
 convulsive motion comes on more frequently, and she 
 complains of acute pain about the region of the heart. 
 Pulse 120. 
 
 December 19th. — Mr. Tudor, yesterday, took about 
 five ounces of blood, which contained a small proportion 
 of crassamentum to the bulk of the serum. She was how- 
 ever much relieved by it, and the swelling and pain in 
 the right arm subsided very considerably. Pulse 120. 
 
 December 25th. — Complains occasionally of her 
 former symptoms. Pulse 112. Alvus obstipata. Urina 
 parca. Rcpr. Pil. Cath. 
 
 January 2nd, 1819. — The former symptoms returned 
 with more violence; and Mr. Tudor took about six 
 ounces of blood with very considerable relief. On the 
 30th ult. she was bled, and the blood was cupped but 
 not huffy. The tumour increases in size, and she has 
 complained for some time of a swelling externally about 
 the loins, which I have not yet had an opportunity of 
 seeing. Pulse 120. Takes little food. Alvus as- 
 tringitur. Urina redditur liberiiis. 
 
 January 9th. — I examined the swelling above men- 
 
67 
 
 tioned, a few days ago, with Mr. Thomas. It was per- 
 ceptible, but not large ; the fluctuation was evident about 
 the middle part of the sacrum, but she could bear mode- 
 rate pressure upon it. Mr. Braodreth accompanied me 
 to-day, examined it particularly, and plainly felt the 
 fluctuation. It extended to both hips. Mr. B. examined 
 the tumour in the left side, which was fuller than I had 
 observed it lately, but still extremely acute, and sensible 
 to the touch. Is troubled with the catching in the breath • 
 ing, and oppression about the region of the heart, i 
 recommended her to be bled again if these symptoms did 
 not abate in violence. 
 
 January I7th.— Mr. Tudor bled her yesterday with 
 considerable relief. The blood was very slightly buflfy, 
 but not cupped, and the serum was in large proportion 
 to the crassamentum, but it had not flowed very freely 
 from the arm ; she takes little or no food. Appears to 
 be very low. Pulse 100 to 108. 
 
 January 22d. — The catching and oppression in the 
 breathing are very troublesome ; has no appetite for 
 food, takingscarcely any thing but sugar and water. Mr. 
 Brandreth, Mr. Thomas and I examined the tumour in 
 the left side, wljich pointed more, about two inches above 
 the navel, and an inch and a half to the left of it. Could 
 not bear any pressure upon it: the fluctuation was 
 evident between the hips ; an enlargement was felt upon 
 the sacrum, below the left lumbar vertebrae. She suff*ef ed 
 pain from the pressure. Her cap was taken off", and in 
 this situation the character of blindness was very remark- 
 able. Pulse from 108 to 120. Alvus obstipata. Urina 
 
 parca. 
 
 Repr. Infus. Sennae, u. a. 
 
 January 29th.— Pulse varying from 104 to 120, irregu- 
 
6S 
 
 lar but moderately free. Finding' her very unwell, and 
 Mr Tliomas's arrival very uncertain, I took about six 
 ounces of blood from the arm, which almost immediately 
 relieved her. The pulse after the bleeding fell to 96 ; 
 rose ag-ain to 120, and was more regular and steady in 
 its pulsations. The blood whilst flowing was apparently 
 very thin, and appeared as blood diluted with water ; af- 
 ter standing for some time it was cupped but not buffy. 
 The green pigment was observed at the bottom of the cup. 
 Supervenit, post infusum sennae acceptum, diarrhoea. 
 
 January 31st. — Mr. Thomas being unwell, Mr. Nairn 
 visited Miss M'Avoy yesterday, and finding an exacer- 
 bation of the oppression in the breathing, bled her to 
 the amount of nearly ten ounces. The blood was cup- 
 ped with the vermilion border. The serum in this blood, 
 and that of the 29th, had a dirty yellow tinge. Pulse 
 120. Has taken no other food but sugar and water. Is 
 at times unconscious of what is going forward. 
 
 February 1st. — Complains of great debility. The 
 oppression in the chest, and difficulty of breathing, are 
 considerably relieved. Has no inclination for food. 
 Diarrhoea tamen manet. Pulse 120. 
 
 Capt. Tinct. opii. gtts. v. quarta quaque bora si urgeat diarrhoea. 
 
 February 3d. — Complains more of the oppression and 
 catching in the breathing. Her mother has observed her 
 to dose during the night, for the last fortnight, but Miss 
 M'Avoy does not feel herself much refreshed by this kind 
 of sleep, and doubts if she has been asleep. Pulse 120. 
 Diarrhoea non sistitur. 
 
 Repr. Tinct. opii. u. a» 
 
 February 5th. — Continues much the same. Pulse 120, 
 
69 
 
 The legs and feet are very anasarcous. Diarrhoeam sistitit 
 laudanum, 
 
 February 8th. — Mr. Udney, a Surg-eon lately settled 
 in town, expressed a wish to see Miss M'Avoy ; he accom- 
 panied Mr. Nairn, and met me at two o'clock. Mr. 
 Udney examined Miss M'Avoy's eyes, and tried those 
 experiments, as tests of her blindness, which he thought 
 necessary. Having mentioned an experiment I had 
 made before by levelling a pistol suddenly at her head, 
 without producing the least shock, without the slightest 
 tremulous motion of the muscles of the face, and without 
 her knowledge, apparently, that such an experiment had 
 been made; having the pistol in my pocket, these 
 gentlemen were induced to repeat it, and the result was 
 similar to that of mine. Mr. Nairn scarified slightly the 
 leg, which was the most swelled. The oppression and 
 catching of the breathing became more violent from the 
 fatigue of loosening her clothes, that we might examine 
 the tumour in the side and back ; that in the side pointed 
 much more fully than I had seen it ; and that upon the 
 OS sacrum was sensibly felt. The pulse when Mr. Nairn 
 came in was 108 ; upon my arrival it was 120, and imme- 
 diately after the examination it was 168. 
 
 February 10th. — The oppression and catching in the 
 breathing are better, Mr. Tudor bled her yesterday, and 
 found the symptoms were much increased in violence. 
 He took about five ounces of blood, which was cupped 
 and slightly buffy, with the bright vermilion tinge on the 
 edge of the cupped blood. Pulse 120 and feeble. She 
 takes scarcely any food, but sugar and water Once 
 or twice lately, she wished for a little bacon, in which 
 request she was indulged, and she has now and then 
 taken milk boiled with a little flour, which generally 
 brought on the diarrhoea again. 
 
70 
 
 February 12th. — Is considerably relieved by the scari- 
 fications which discharge very freely. Has taken a little 
 food for two or three days. Pulse from 104 to 120. 
 Alvus solvitur et urina libera redditur. 
 
 February 14th. — Complains of weakness and want of 
 appetite. The leg's discharge copiously. Pulse 108. 
 Alvus elicitur, et urina, cum dolore, parca. 
 
 February 16th. — Complains of more oppression about 
 the chest. Pulse 120. Alvus valde liquatur. 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 February 19th — Mr. Tudor took about five ounces of 
 blood on the 16th, which relieved her considerably. It 
 was cupped and slightly bufify; and the green appearance 
 was observable at the bottom of the cup. About ten 
 o'clock this morning, she was seized with shiverings, and 
 complained as if cold water were trickling down her 
 back. She seemed shrunk in her general appearance. 
 The legs discharge very little. Pulse feeble, irregular and 
 not to be counted. Urina modice redditur, sed cum do- 
 lore. Iterum scarificentur crura et pedes. 
 
 February 20th. — The shiverings continue ; she is very 
 weak, and not always sensible. The pulse fuller than 
 yesterday, but irregular in frequency and strength. It 
 was counted at different times by me, Mr. Nairn, and 
 Dr. Hannay, from 144 to 168. The legs were again 
 scarified. Alvus astricta. 
 
 February 22nd.— Is rather better. Pulse 120. The 
 scarifications did not occasion much discharge, and the 
 operation was repeated. 
 
 February 24th. — Complains of more pain, particularly 
 
71 
 
 hboul the chest, extending to the stomach. Tlie opprcs-* 
 sion and catching in the breathing have returned with 
 considerable violence. The legs and feet discharged 
 veryi little, and a couple of deeper scarifications were 
 made by Mr. Bennet, Surgeon, who accompanied me. 
 I recommended her to send for Mr Tudor to bleed her 
 if the discharge from the legs did not relieve the oppreg- 
 «ion,4fec. Pulse 120. 
 
 March 2nd.— Mr. Tudor bled her on the 25th, and 
 obtained about five ounces of blood, which was slightly- 
 cupped . The bleeding relieved her at the moment, but 
 before he left her, the oppression returned. A very con- 
 siderable discharge took place from the legs. She felt 
 herself better, but yesterday the shiverings returned, 
 and frequently came on to-day. Complains of conside- 
 rable pain in the chest, and of oppression in her breath- 
 ing. The pulse during my visit, varied from 160 to 180 
 pulsations in the minute; it was irregular in strength, 
 but was fuller than I could have expected. Complains 
 of great thirst. Per aliquot dies alvi dejectionem non 
 habuit. Urina redditur modice sed tamen cum dolore. 
 
 Repr. Infus. Senna, u. a. et Mist alkalin. cum succo limonum. 
 
 March 6th — The discharge from the legs has been 
 extremely copious, and her breathing is better, but the 
 convulsive twitchings come on occasionally, and she is 
 never free from head-ache. Pulse 108, appetite rather 
 better. 
 
 March 12th. — Continued better for a few days, but 
 to-day there was a return of the shiverings. The tumour 
 appeared more generally enlarged, extending almost 
 from the navel to the ribs on the left side, and forward 
 
7S 
 
 to the spine of the ileum. Pulse 144, irregular in ful- 
 ness and strength. The legs discharged very little. 
 Repr. scarificationes cruris unius, vel amborum, si sit 
 occasio. 
 
 March 14th. — Complains of violent pain and throbbing 
 in the fore and back part of the head, and of pain in tiie 
 sockets of the eyes. The scarifications of the legs were 
 not made; the swelling had increased ; the difficulty and 
 oppression in the breathing are now worse. Pulse 120. 
 The scarifications were again advised. Alvus soluta, et 
 urina reddita modic^. 
 
 March loth. — I visited Miss M'Avoy, with Dr. Meyler 
 of Dublin, and found her labouring under considerable 
 pain and uneasiness. The upper lip was bedewed with 
 perspiration, an indication of serious suffering. She was 
 partially convulsed, and her eyes rolled to and fro. In 
 the night these symptoms are said to be more violent. — 
 During our stay, she was occasionally sensible. In the 
 muscles of the neck there was a considerable contractile 
 motion. 
 
 The Pulse varied from 144 to 204, was at times full, at 
 other times receding and intermitting. The calculation 
 was made by five seconds. The number of pulsations 
 varied as each person felt it. 
 
 The legs were scarified to-day. The tumour was evi- 
 dent, but did not appear quite so;protrusiveas it did a few 
 days ago. Nimisliquatur alvus. 
 
 March 18th. — The convulsions continue at intervals 
 When able to express herself, she complains of violent 
 pain and throbbing in the back of the head ; is aiflicted 
 
73 
 
 with twitchings, and there is occasionally a strong action 
 in the mastoid muscles. Pulse 144. 
 
 March 20th —Visited her with Capt. Farrar. She was 
 convulsed when we entered the room, and continued so 
 for several minutes. Pulse not easily counted. Slight 
 convulsive twitchings, and catching in the breathing, 
 occur frequently. Abradatur capillitium, et applicetur 
 capiti empL Lyttse amplum. 
 
 March 24th. — The convulsions ceased after profuse 
 perspiration, but she still complains of pain and beating 
 in the fore and back part of the head. Pulse 120. Has 
 recovered thiB use of the right arm ; the leg of that side 
 is still paralysed, but the swelling has nearly disappeared, 
 the left leg is more swelled than before. Alvus et urlna 
 naturales, 
 
 March 26th. — Continues much the same, but complains 
 more of the pain occasioned by the swelling of the left 
 leg, and it now extends up the thigh. Pulse 120. The 
 left leg was scarified in a few places, 
 
 March 3 1st. — The left leg discharged freely, but the 
 swelling is very little decreased. Pulse 120. Alvus 
 soluta. 
 
 April 1 1th. — She continued better for several days, and 
 had not been troubled, except in a very slight degree, 
 upon any sudden noise or alarm, with the convulsive 
 twitchings or catching in the breathing. The left leg 
 continued to discharge very freely, until within a day or 
 two, when the scarifications were closed up. The con- 
 vulsive twitching and catching in the breathing came oa 
 a few times during my visit to-day. I made a few scari- 
 
 K 
 
u 
 
 fications in the same leg, as it appeared that this dis- 
 charge relieved her, although the size of the left leg and 
 thigh did not diminish much. The right leg is a good 
 deal more swelled, but is yet paraly ti<?. Pulse 120. The 
 tumour in the side is much the same. Alvus magis 
 ^uta, et urina libere reddita. 
 
 April 19th. — The scarifications did not produce any 
 very great discharge, and at present they are all closed up, 
 <>xcept one, which, being made rather deep, discharges 
 a little matter. The convulsive twitching and catch- 
 ing in the breathing come on very seldom. The 
 tumour under the shoulder blade has disappeared. 
 The legs and thighs are less anasarcous. Recover- 
 ed the use of the right leg on the 16th inst. The 
 tumour is still excessively painful to the touch. Is 
 engaged in making chimney ornaments. The food she 
 has taken latterly has been bread and milk, which now 
 agrees with her. To sugar and water she has taken a 
 distaste, as well as to coffee. Pulse 120. Alvus solvitur 
 «t urina redditur libere. 
 
 April 25th. — Continues much the same. The tumour 
 increases, and points more than it did : the most elevated 
 part is about three inches and a half from the navel in a 
 diagonal line, extending tow ards the apex of the heart. 
 Pulse 120. 
 
 May 15th. — There was a little alteration in her com- 
 plaints, continuing upon the whole better, until a day or 
 two ago, when the convulsive twitching and oppression 
 in the breathing, with shooting pains through the chest, 
 returned. She sent for Mr. Tudor who bled her this 
 morning to the amount of nine ounces, when she fainted. 
 The blood was hardly bufFy, but slightly cupped, th^ 
 
76 
 
 coagulum was firm, and of a deep red colour. Pulse 
 108 to 120. Per aliquot dies urgebat diarrhoea, hodid 
 cessabat. 
 
 May 17th. — The bleeding relieved her, but not so 
 much as on former occasions. I was induced to bleed 
 her again, and obtained about six ounces, when she 
 became faint, but she was relieved. Pulse varying from 
 96 to 120, before the bleeding, and after the bleeding 
 it was 112, more steady and full than before. Alvus 
 nunc dura. 
 
 May 27th. — Mr. Tudor bled her again yesterday, to 
 the amount of about seven ounces ; the blood was cup* 
 ped slightly, but not huffy. The convulsive twitching 
 was more violent as well as the oppression of the breath- 
 ing. Her brother died in the course of last night. Pulse 
 from 120 to 136, and variable. Mr. Peacock, of the army, 
 accompanied me. She was afflicted still with the oppres- 
 sion of, and catching in, breathing; her legs were rather less, 
 swelled. Mr. P. served in Egypt, and was conversant 
 in diseases of the eyes, and the effects resulting from 
 them. He observed she had the characteristic marks of 
 blindness. Alvus obstipatur. 
 
 June 5th. — Mr. Thomas bled her on the 30th ult, and 
 Mr. Tudor on the 2nd of June, to the amount of J^even 
 ounces each time, without material relief. The blood 
 was slightly cupped, but not buffy. Pulse 120. 
 
 June 7th. — ^Continues much the same. Mr. Peacock 
 again accompanied me. Pulse from 108 to 120. The 
 respiration was at the rate of 1^0 in the minute, or ten in 
 five seconds, as it could not be exactly calculated 
 during a whole minute, when the catching took place in 
 the breathing. 
 
76 
 
 June iSth. — She continued much the same for several 
 days. Complained of occasional shiverings. The catch- 
 ins: in the breathing, and the convulsive motion of the 
 diaphrag-m Were more troublesome, and she seemed to 
 suffer a g-ood deal of pain. The pain in the head and in 
 the sockets of the eyes continue. Pulse 120. It became 
 as frequent as 144 during my visit. Mr, Davidson, Sur- 
 geon, who was formerly a pupil of Mr. G. Bell, of Edin- 
 burgh, accompanied me. He examined the eyes, and 
 agreed with me in the opinion of her blindness. Mrs. 
 Hughes being very ill, I went up stairs to visit her, and 
 Mr. Davidson informed me he made wry faces at her but 
 she took no notice whatever, nor did her countenance 
 express any knowledge of what he had been doing. 
 
 June 13th.. — I found her still worse to-day. I took 
 seven ounces of blood in a very quick stream, from the 
 right arm, when she became insensible for a few minutes, 
 but the pulse continued to beat. She complained of 
 being faint, but she felt herself better with respect to the 
 other symptoms. The pulse was 120, and irregular 
 before, but, after the bleeding, it fell to 100, and became 
 soft and regular. The blood was not buffy, and only 
 slightly cupped. 
 
 June 14th. — The bleeding relieved her, but not so 
 much. Pulse 120< She again takes coffee and a little 
 cream, but in a very small quantity. Alvus obstipata 
 fuit per aliquot dies. 
 
 June 15th. — She appears very unwell, and from the feel- 
 ing of fluctuation in the tumour, she thinks it will 
 break. From her general appearance I should be afraid 
 of a return of convulsion. Her pulse varies from 108 
 to 120. The attempt to protrude the tongue produced 
 
77 
 
 a more violent effect than usual^ and the pain was so 
 great that it caused her to shed tears. 
 
 My friend and school-fellow, Mr. Thomas Creevey, 
 was walking: near Mr. Hughes's house, at the moment I 
 was entering it. I asked him if he wished to see Miss 
 M'Avoy. Ah ! said he, were you not taken in in that 
 business, I answered in the negative, and I said you shall 
 form your own judgment upon the case. Mr. Creevey 
 saw her, and I shall leave him to give his own opinion 
 to any of his friends who have not seen her. He had 
 no idea from the accounts he had heard she was in so 
 distressing a state of health. 
 
 June 18th. — Mr. Lampett, a medical gentleman, retired 
 from the profession, accompanied me to-day. She con- 
 tinued much the same as before. Takes only a very lit- 
 tle coffee and milk. Pulse 120. Alvus obstipata. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Cath. 
 
 June 22nd. — Complains of pain and fulness in the right 
 side. Pulse 108 Alvus dejicitur. 
 
 Cap. Pil. Hydr. dua« quaque nocte. 
 
 June 27. — Is much worse ; complains of acute pain la 
 the left side, and also in the right hypochondrium, ex- 
 tending to the right breast, which is increased upon rais- 
 ing her right hand to the head. The suspension of breath- 
 ing now and then, comes on in the day, but very often 
 in the night. Pulse from 120 to 140; variable in strength. 
 Alvus dejecta. 
 
 June 30th. — The suspension of breathing came on three 
 times during the latter part of my visit A feather applied 
 to the mouth was not acted upon by the breath, and a 
 
V6 
 
 looking-glass applied to the mouth, received no stain. As 
 it went off the convulsive motion seemed more severe. 
 Dr. Derrick, of Philadelphia, accompanied me. Mr. 
 Lampett arrived afterwards. They both appeared satis- 
 fied of her blindness, and the former gentleman declared 
 there was the most marked character of it in her appear- 
 ance. Pulse 96 to 120. Alvus soluta. 
 
 July 1st. — The suspension of breathing comes on every 
 three or four minutes. The duration from 16 to 35 se«- 
 conds. Mr. M^ Donald, surgeon of Liverpool, accompa- 
 panied me. 
 
 JulySrd. — Is much the same, but complains of the pain 
 through her side and breast, being more violent. Has 
 eaten a few new potatoes and strawberries. Pulse 120. 
 
 July 9th. — Mr. G. Bell, of Edinburgh, accompanied 
 me. The suspension of breathing occurs very frequently. 
 A solution of Extract of Strammonium w^s applied three 
 times to the eye-lids and round the eye, but it did not 
 produce any effect. There was a tremulous motion in 
 the eye-lids, occasionally, even during the suspension of 
 breathing, but when the eye-lid was raised and allowed 
 to fall again, it fell as if it were dead. The eyeball ap- 
 peared fixed at other times. The left side was examined 
 and appeared to point much more in one place than 1 had 
 observed it to do before. During the suspension of 
 breathing, Mr. Bell proposed to feel the side, but her 
 mother would not consent to it; and all my persuasions 
 could not prevail upon her to permit it to be done. — 
 She even shed tears upon the occasion, and charged me 
 with having done it before, when it produced convul- 
 sions, but I told her it would most probably not give her 
 
7i* 
 
 pain, if done during the sngpension of breathing. I even 
 pressed her more strongly upon the refusal, and told 
 her it might create suspicion in Mr. Bell of imposition, 
 if she did not allow it to be done ; but her answer was, 
 the world had spoken as ill of her daughter as it was 
 possible, and she did not regard its opinion on this point. 
 She was satisfied of her blindness. If she died, her 
 dajughter, as wejl as herself, wished her body to be exa- 
 amined, and then the opinion of those who examined her 
 might prove if she were l?lind or not, and what was the 
 nature of the disease in the side. She declared her 
 daughter should not be abused as when the needle was . 
 inserted into the toe. I was obliged to be silent. Mr. 
 Bell would of course, make his own comments upon thi« 
 refusal. It did not appear to me that his opinion at this 
 time was so decidedly against her as upon his former 
 visit. Pulse from 108 to 120. 
 
 August 1st. — There was little or no alteration in the 
 symptoms until this morning. The convulsive catching 
 of the diaphragm, the oppression in the chest, and fre^ 
 quent suspension in the breathing, with constant and se- 
 severe head-ache, continue in much the same manner as 
 upon the last report. The pulse was seldom less than 
 108, and did scarcely ever exceed 120 pulsations in a 
 minute, unless from any sudden noise or alarm, or from 
 the examination of the side, which, from the fatigue and 
 agitation it occasioned in undressing, generally increas- 
 ed its velocity. She took very little food, and w&b 
 obliged to be watched closely, lest it might choke her if 
 she attempted to swallow it a moment previous to thd 
 suspension coming on. She tried sigain a cup of coffe« 
 and cream, twice a day, which now agreed with her, and 
 was her chief support, but it was obliged to be given 
 mih great caution. When she took more solid food i| 
 
m 
 
 was generally thrown off the stomach, in a few days, in 
 an undigested state. This morning", at half-past ten 
 o'clock, a xn. she was seized with convulsions. I found 
 her about two o'clock in this state. They continued 
 for two or three minutes, and were alternated with the 
 suspension of breathing. The right leg and hand were 
 strongly contracted during the convulsion, but relaxed 
 upon the suspension occurring. Has lost the power of 
 speech. 
 
 • 
 August 2nd. — Mr. Bowling, Surgeon, of Bolton, ani 
 Mr. Bedford, of Liverpool, accompanied me. She was 
 sensible this morning, for a little while, but could not 
 articulate. 
 
 August 3rd. — Heri,cum doloremuiio, librae duse urinae 
 limpida?, eodem tempore, redditse fuerunt. Per aliquot 
 diesantea alvus astricta, et urina non reddita fuit. 
 
 Soon after she was seized with a severe convulsion 
 and spasm, throwing her hands about with violence, and 
 it required all her mother's strength to hold them so as to 
 prevent them from doing injury to herself. She after- 
 wards became more sensible, and was evidently relieved. 
 She was able to put her left hand to her neck, which, 
 for a long time before she had not done, from the pain 
 and fulness under the clavicle. > 
 
 August 4th.— Prima luce urinam reddidit pure com- 
 mixtam. She has also recovered her speech, and the 
 contraction of the legs and arms as well as the twltch- 
 ings, are removed. Her face is rather more emaciated. 
 She cannot protrude the tongue without bringing on the 
 convulsive affection, Pulse 120. 
 
81 
 
 August 7th. — She can bear moderate pressure on the 
 leftside, and she says she is better now than at any period 
 for a very long time. Pulse 108. Die augusti quiuto et 
 sexto urina pure commixta reddita fuit libere. 
 
 August 13th. — Mr. Bedford accompanied me. She 
 see^ns much better. Pulse 96. Can protrude the tongue 
 a little beyond the teeth, but the effort produced a slight 
 spasm. The eyes were examined, and Mr. B. agreed 
 with me, they had a morbid appearance, and the charac- 
 ter of blindness. Upon Miss M'-Avoy being asked if 
 she could bear any thing to be applied to the eye-balls, 
 she said she could bear her finger to pass ov^er them ; 
 and once when the eyelashes were turned under the 
 jeye-lid, they did not give her any particular pain, but 
 what was produced from the soreness of the eye -lids. 
 Mr. Bedford proposed to apply a blunt-pointed probe 
 on the cornea, which was done in both eyes, and he 
 pressed it upon each, but she expressed no pain, but 
 what arose from the soreness of the eyelids. Alvus soluta. 
 
 August 17th. — She continues better. Dr. Jardine ac- 
 companied me. The experiment with the probe w^as 
 again made. A slight sensation appeared when the 
 probe was placed on the pupil, but she complained of no 
 pain in the ball of the eye, but of much pain in the eye- 
 lids when they were touched. Dr. Jardine drew it back- 
 wards and forwards across each eye, and in the first 
 trial he depressed the cornea before he was aware 
 he had touched it. No tears w^ere discharged, nor 
 did there appear any sign of the slightest inflamma- 
 tion in the eyeball. The side and the breast were opened. 
 The pointed part of the tumour had disappeared, and 
 she could bear moderate pressure upon it, which has not 
 l*een the case for many months. The swelling which was 
 
 L 
 
83 
 
 observable about the upper part of the breast, and under 
 the clavicle, was so much diminished, as to enable her to 
 cross the left arm over the breast, as 1 have before said. 
 
 August 1 8th. — Mr. Davidson accompanied me to-day, 
 sipd not having a probe we made use of the top part of 
 the scales of a lancet; the left eyelid was more inflamed 
 than the day before, and whether it was touched with the 
 lancet or not I could not say, but she complained of pain 
 and soreness in the eyelid, but not in the ball of the eye. 
 A tear or two passed over the eyelid, but she bore the pass- 
 ing to and fro of the top of the lancet, across the pupil, 
 and the cornea. I passed the leaf of a Siberian crab- 
 apple, cut to a point, over the pupil and cornea, without 
 producing the least motion in the eye-balls. 
 
 We had provided ourselves with some coloured fluids, 
 but although she named the colour of two of them, she 
 did not do it with that readiness which characterized her 
 former eff"orts. She was uncovered. » 
 
 August 21st. — I found her very poorly in consequence 
 of a cold caught by sitting in the garden. She had also 
 a slight return of the oppression and catching in the 
 breathing, and of the convulsive motion of the diaphragm. 
 She was advised to take a few drops of Ipecachuana wine 
 three times a day, and the cough being harsh and dry, 1 
 recommended her to lose some blood. Pulse 120, and 
 rather full. 
 
 August 23rd. — Mr. Tudor, yesterday morning, took 
 about seven ounces of blood, when the suspension of 
 breathing came on. The blood was slightly cupped but 
 notbulTy. She was relieved at the time of bleeding but 
 the other symptoms returned with considerable violence ; 
 the cough still remained dry and harsh, and caused consi- 
 derable pain in the breast ; I took from her about eight 
 
wunees of blood in a full stream, when the breathing 
 was suspended, and I allowed it to run into the basin for 
 a little longer time. She was faint for some time after- 
 wards ; the pulse varied from 120 to 132, and became 
 more feeble. She expressed herself as being much 
 better, although considerably exhausted. Alvus soluta 
 et urina modice reddita. 
 
 Repr. V. S. si sit occasio. 
 
 August 25th. — She was much better this morning, hav- 
 ing lost again about five ounces of blood. The cough 
 was relieved a little, but she still complained of pain in 
 the breast. Pulse from 108 to 120, and once it was IS2, 
 and feeble with clammy hands. 
 
 Appr. Emp. Lyttae sterno. 
 
 August 26th. — She seemed very poorly to-day. Puis© 
 varying from 144 to 152. Skin moist and clammy. Hands 
 cold ; complains of shiverings, of a coldness down the 
 back, and of violent pain about the loins. The pain in 
 the head is much increased, and there is still soreness in 
 the chest, and cough, but the blister gave her some relief 
 and discharges freely. Alvi habuit dejectionem ; et urina 
 libere reddidit. Humoris effusio larga e utero, colOris 
 subfusci et sanguinei evenit hodie, instar mensium fluxus 
 morbidarum. Post horas quinque cessabat. 
 
 August 27th. — I was accompanied to-day by Mr. M'Do* 
 nald, house-apothecary of the Edingburgh Infirmary, 
 and we met Mr. Nairn. She was much better than yes- 
 terday ; the cough still continues harsh, and she com- 
 plains of the pain in the breast. Mr. M' Donald minutely 
 examined the eyes ; he observed the irregularity of the 
 pupil of the left eye ; and the contraction and dilatatioa 
 in both eyesj upon the presentation of a lighted candle. 
 
84 
 
 He applied a similar leaf to the one I used, the other day, 
 to the pupil ot the eye, without producing any motion in 
 the ball of the eye, or any apparent sensibility. The Pulse 
 wa^ frequent, but tolerably firm and full. Mr. Nairn took 
 from the arm about six ounces of blood, which, upon 
 standing:, had a slight buff upon it, and was a good deal 
 cupped. The suspension of breathing came on during 
 the bleeding. The fillet was loosened, but as the pulse 
 remained firm, the blood was allowed to flow for some 
 time longer ; after the suspension went off, she re- 
 mained incapable of exertion. The arm was tied 
 up. The pulse occasionally faltered; her hands were 
 cold and clammy ; drops of perspiration stood upon 
 the upper lip ; and she remained in that state, of half- 
 syncope, which I have observed before After walkinji: 
 in the garden we returned, and she still lay in this state 
 with her head upon the pillow, although she faintly an- 
 swered a question or two I put to her. 
 
 August 29th. — She is better, but the cough is very trou- 
 blesome. Alvus miniis liquatur. Urina parca redditur. 
 
 Jx. Muc. G. acaciae, 5 vii, 
 Syr. Tolutan. 5 ss. 
 Tinct. opii. gtts. Ixxx. 
 Vin. Antimon. 5 ii« M. 
 Capt. Coch. ii. quarta quaque hora si urgeat tussis. 
 
 August 3Ist. — The cough is still troublesome, but 
 rather more loose than before ; complains of the mixture 
 confusing her head, and of sounds affecting her very 
 much. Complained before of the effect of sounds, but 
 the mixture seemed to produce the confusion. Had 
 taken paregoric elixir of the former dispensatories,which 
 agreed better with her she thought than the sudorific 
 anodyne mixture. Diarrhoea per aliquot dies urgebat 
 valde. 
 
85 
 
 September 2nd. — The cough is not much relieved. 
 Pulse 144 to 160. Appl. Emp. Lyttse. sterno. 
 
 September 4th. — Continues much the same, but the 
 cough is rather better. The blister was not applied. The 
 catching in the breathing, and the convulsive motion of 
 the diaphrag-m came on occasionally. Pulse 156. Tamen 
 urget diarrhoea tenesmo concomitata. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Hydr. submur. cum jalap, u. a. 
 
 September 6th. — Found her rather better, but the 
 cough is still troublesome. Pulse from 120 to 156. The 
 skin moist, clammy, and cold She has left oflF both the 
 opiate misture, and the paregoric, as they made her 
 very uncomfortable for some time after taking them. 
 Has not taken the pills. Diarrhoea cum tenesmo manet, 
 Applicetur sterno Emplastrum opiatum, 
 
 September 14th. — Is affected with catching and oppres- 
 sion in the breathing, and convulsive motion of the 
 diaphragm. The cough still continues with a considerable 
 degree of harshness. Pulse 144. I bled her to the 
 amount of six ounces, with considerable relief; but she 
 was insensible a short time after the bleeding, and lay in 
 a quiescent state for some time after I left her. 
 
 September 16th. — In examining the blood, the green 
 pigment was again observable in the first cup, but not in 
 the second. The blood was cupped, and slightly buflfy 
 in the first, and cupped only in the second cup. Pulse 
 144. Repr. V. S. 
 
 September 20th. — The blood taken on the 1 6th, was 
 slightly cupped ; the serum of a turbid whey colour ; 
 cough troublesome and harsh ; pulse varying from 120 
 to 144. Alvus nim\s libera^ 
 
86 
 
 September 23rd.— The cough and catching in the 
 breathing were mare troublesome, with a lancinating 
 pain in the right side. Mr. Tudor took about six ounces 
 qf blood from the arm yesterday, which relieved her 
 very much. She complained before this of confusion in 
 the head, and she could not recollect what had passed. 
 Any sudden n^oise affected her. She could not sew or 
 net for a considerable time together. Alvus minus^ 
 libera. Pulse 144. 
 
 October 8th. — Since the last report she has been much 
 better. The catching in the breathing seldom comes on 
 except she attempts to protrude the tongue. Mr. John 
 Gladstone, Ca^t. Owen, of the navy, and Dr. Nimmo, 
 of Glasgow, met me at Mrs. Hughes's. Dr. Nimmo, 
 sta.ted her pulse to beat at th,e rate of 136 pulsations in 
 the minute. 
 
 October 26th. — Miss M'Avoy, within this day or twty, 
 baa felt herself much worse. The tumour appears to 
 increase in size, and the pain, ou pressure, is more con- 
 siderable. Pulse about 120, moderately full. The catch- 
 ing in the breathing comes on now and then, and she 
 appears depressed in spirits. The pain in the head and 
 in the sockets of the eyes is very considerable. She 
 has complained for a long time, of a numbness on the 
 lower part of the temporal bone, and near the lower or- 
 bit of the eye Dr. Holmes, of Canada, who lately gra- 
 duated in Edinburgh, accompanied me in my vL^it. 
 
 November 9th. — She says that her teeth are decaying 
 and pieces come away without any apparent cause. 
 Within these few days she has complained more of the 
 catching in the breathing, and the convulsive Motion of 
 the diaphragm, with g;eneral lowness of spirits and 
 
m 
 
 want of exertion. She has little inclination to employ 
 herself in sewing or making ornaments. Pulse 120, 
 Diei quinti novembris vespere superveniebant menses 
 coloris subfusci ; mane sequente disparuebant. Alvus 
 libere, urina modice redditur. 
 
 November 22, — Complains of pain all over her, of 
 more violent pain in the back and forepart of the head, 
 and in the sockets of the eyes. The tumour in tlie side 
 increases, and that in the region of the os sacrum con- 
 tinues to fluctuate. Shiverings occasionally come on. 
 Pulse 108. Alvus magis aslricta. 
 
 November 30th. — Is very unwell. Has been afflicted 
 for several days with cramp at the stomach, which bends 
 her double, alternating with increase of pain across the 
 coronal suture, and attended with numbness of the right 
 arm. Cold perspirations frequently come on. Pulse va- 
 rying from 132 to 168. Alvus constipata. Sorbuit hydr. 
 submur. c. jalap, portionem usitatam duplam vel triplam, 
 non alvum solutam sed nauseam et vomitum, inducentis ; 
 vice cujus substituit mater sua infus. sennae more solito. 
 
 December 4th. — Dr. Meyler, and Mr. M'Donald, 
 assistant surgeon of the Dispensary, accompanied me in 
 my visit to Miss M'Avoy. We found her very poorly. 
 The tumour was examined in the side. It was perceptibly 
 elevated, and so acutely sensible to the touch, that the 
 falling of the clothes upon it made her shrink. She at- 
 tempted to protrude the tongue, and the catching in the 
 breathing and convulsive motion of the diaphragm came 
 on but she protruded it fairly over the teeth. The 
 Pulse varied from 132 to 144, during our visit. The 
 spasms of the stomach continue, but are more prevalent 
 in the night-time. Warm water or weak tea affords her 
 
88 
 
 relief. The heat of .the mouth by the thermometer was 
 110, in the hands 98, and in the room 75 degrees. 
 
 December 10th. — Is much the same. Pulse from 120 
 to IS2, Alvus modic^ levatur. 
 
 December 13th. — Complains of the catching in the 
 breathing, of springing or pricking pains through the 
 part where the issue had been made. The cramp at the 
 stomach is more violent, and continues for a longer time. 
 The discharge from the left leg, where it was scarified, 
 continues. Pulse from 132 to 144. Alvus obstipata. 
 jRepr. Pil. Hyd. Submur. c. Jalap. 
 
 December I5th — Is rather w^orsc. Pulse varying from 
 136 to 160 Mrs. Hughes being seized with a violent 
 cold, was for two days confined to her bed, and her 
 daughter's complaints might have been increased by her 
 uneasiness respecting her mother, who was in consider- 
 able danger this morning. Alvus tamen astricta. 
 
 Bepr. Pil. Hyd. submur, c. Jalap, u. a. 
 
 December 17th. — Continues still very poorly. The 
 Pills again disagreed with her. The oppression and 
 catching in the breathing are worse, with violent pain 
 in the head. The cramp at the stomach frequently as- 
 sails her, particularly in the night. Pulse from 132 to 
 134. 
 
 §> Pi^* Colocynth. Comp. 3 »• 
 
 Hydr. Submur. 5 ss. M. et divide in Pil. xx. 
 
 Capt. iii. nocte maneque pro re iiHa ad alvum soU 
 
 vendam. Si tamen urgeant symptomata supradicta, fiat V.S et Detr. Sanguin. 
 
 5 vi. ad 5 viii. 
 
 December 20th. — Continues very poorly. She lost 
 six ounces of blood, and it was cupped but not buffy. 
 
89 
 
 Pulse varying from 132 to 160. Alvus obstipatur. Urinje 
 fluxus per aliqnot dies siippressus fuit. 
 
 Repr. Infus. Sennce, u. a. 
 Repr. V. S. statim. 
 
 Dr. Meyler accompanied Mr. Thomas and me ; and 
 remained while she was under the operation of bleeding. 
 The suspension of breathing oame on, but the blood was 
 allowed to flow until we had obtained about six ounces, 
 when the pulse fell, and the arm was tied up. 
 
 December 21st. — The same gentleman again accom- 
 panied me. She still continued very ill. The bleeding 
 was repeated, and we left her under symptoms of very 
 considerable debility. Pulse from 120 to 144. 
 
 December 22nd. — The last bleeding very*much reliev- 
 ed her. The pulse was moderately firm, and vai^jed 
 from 120 to 132. Complains still of twisting about the 
 region of the heart, as if a cord were tied round it, and 
 occasionally drawn very tight Supprimuntur alvus et 
 urina. Utatur aquae fervidae vapore, partibus vicinis, 
 more solito, applicando. Si urgeat cordis constrictio, fiat 
 venae sectio et detrahantur sanguinis, 5 viii. ad 5 x. 
 Repr. infus. sennae u. a. 
 
 December 23rd. — She was much worse than yester- 
 day. Had passed the night with violent pain and 
 oppression about the region of the heart, with freq-uent 
 suspension of breathing. Pulse 160. Urina et alvus 
 parce solvuntur. Fiat statim V. S. About ten ounces 
 were taken away with a full stream. The suspension of 
 breathing came on very frequently, and continued from 
 30 to 40 seconds each time. The pulse fell to 144. The 
 f>ppression and catching in the breathing were very trou- 
 
 M 
 
90 
 
 blesome before the bleeding, but appeared considerably 
 relieved after it had taken place. 
 
 December 24th. — Mr. Thomas's assistant, Mr. Tudor, 
 bled Miss M'Avoy this morning, and she was again re- 
 lieved by the bleeding ; but the oppression and catching 
 in the breathing continue troublesome. The blood was^ 
 cupped, but not huffy. The suspension of breath- 
 ing came on, and he did not obtain more than five 
 ounces. The pulse was 144, but after the bleeding it 
 fell to 108. Two hours after the pulse varied from 120 
 to 132. Alvusobstipata. Stillatim mingit. 
 
 December 25th.— Is extremely low, but the oppression 
 and catching in the breathing are better. She feels inca- 
 pable of any exertion. Complains of a whirling sensa- 
 tion in the tiead, which takes away for the time all 
 recollection ; gets no sleep at night that she is aware 
 of. The suspension of breathing comes on occasionally 
 in the day, bnt more frequently in the night. Takes no 
 food but a little coffee and cream. The pulse 120, soft 
 and easily compressible. Alvusconstipatur. Urinagutta- 
 tim elicltur calida. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Cathartic, u. a; 
 
 January 7th, 1820. — Since the last report she has been 
 very poorly ; has taken more food, but it was rejected 
 \vith considerable violence ; and what had been taken 
 some days before, was thrown up in an undigested state. 
 Is more troubled with the catching and oppression in the 
 breathing. Is extremely uneasy at night, with horrid 
 isensations, as if she were in the midst of wild beasts, or 
 falling down precipices. Complains much tff the pain 
 in'the head, acfoss the temples, at the back of the head, 
 and in th« soeketi of th© eyes;. Pulse 144, soft anil 
 
91 
 
 compressible. Alvus interdum nimis libera, et alternis 
 vioibus ssppe obstipata fait. Urina Uberius redditur. 
 
 January 12th. — Complains of a pain in her side, and 
 is troubled with a dry, hollow cough. Mr. Tudor took 
 eight ounces of blood from the arm this morning. At 
 two p. m. she was better, but still suffered pain in mak- 
 ing a fall inspiration. Pulse 144. Alvus modic^ solvi- 
 tur. Uri'na cum dolore, sed libera, redditur. 
 
 Repr. V, S. et detr. sang, quant; idonea. 
 
 January 13th. — Ten ounces of blood were taken away 
 yesterday afternoon, which was cupped and buffy ; the 
 «erum of a muddy whey colour. The suspension of 
 breathing came on, but Mr. Tudor still allowed the 
 blood to How until she fainted. For a few hours she was 
 relieved, but to day is not materially better. * Pulse 136. 
 Alvus dejieitur. 
 
 Repr. V. S. 
 
 January 14th. — Six ounces of blood were only 
 obtained, which produced no material alteration, yet 
 she was on the point of fainting. The blood was cupped 
 and the serum muddy. Pulse 144, sharp and full. 
 
 , Repr. V. S. et detr. sang. 5 viii. ad 5 ^di. 
 
 Jan. 15th — Six evinces of blood were taken away. 
 It was cupped and bulfy in each cup. When I visited her, 
 she was extremely ill, and her voice could only be heard 
 as the faintest whisper. Found no relief from this bleed- 
 ing, and appeared much exhausted. Pulse 160. I wished 
 her to apply a blister to the side, but she objected to it. 
 as she could not bear the least pressure near the tumour. 
 It was applied to the breast. She objected alsa to leeches, 
 lest they should again bring on the convulsions or faints' 
 
92 
 
 ing. Mrs. Hughes observed «he was so ill at times in the 
 night, with the acute pain produced by the twisting about 
 the region of the heart, that she thought her daughter 
 could not survive the night. Her own feelings have been 
 so oppressive as to induce her to believe she cannot for 
 any long period bear up against them, and she is very 
 much dispirited. 
 
 Jan. 16th. — Does not think herself better; but it 
 appears to nie sh6 is not so ill as yesterday. The catch- 
 ing in the breathing is certainly not so frequent ; and 
 the violence of the pain about the region of the heart is 
 rather diminished, The blister rose a little. Pulse 144. 
 Softer and compressible. Alvus comprimitur. 
 
 January 18th. — There was little alteration in her com- 
 plaints, until the last night, when the pain about the 
 region of the heart, the cough and diificult breathing 
 increased so much as to make it necessary to bleed her. 
 She lost fourteen ounces of blood. The suspension of 
 breathing came on four times during the bleeding ; and 
 when I visited her about an hour after, it occurred every 
 three or four minutes. The blood was in the slightest 
 degree cupped, and without buff. T}ie more violent 
 symptoms of cough were relieved. The pulse when I 
 first felt it was 144, but it very soon after fell to 120 pul- 
 sations in the minute. Alvus obstipatur. Repr. infus. 
 senutT, u. av 
 
 January 20th. — Ts much better, but complains still of 
 the pain and twisting about the region of the heart. She 
 speaks of a chilly, creeping sensation over the heart, 
 and of a symptom, as if a cold ring were placed upon 
 the point of it, and preceding a disposition to fainting. 
 Pulse 132. Infusum sen: sursumet deprsum, opusperegit. 
 
93 
 
 January 22nd. — The oppressive symptoms have recur- 
 red. The pulse irregular and receding. When it can 
 be counted it varies from 142 to 144. 
 
 Cap. vin. Ipec. gtts, xx. ter de die ex aquse pauxillo. 
 
 January 23rd. — The suspension of breathing came on 
 frequently in the day-time, and very often in the night. 
 Pulse 176, irregular in fulness and in strength. The 
 vomiting occasioned by the infusion of senna agitated 
 her very much, swelled and distorted the muscles of the 
 face and neck, so as to cause an increase of pain in the 
 h4ad to so great a degree that she was afraid to take the 
 Ipecachuana wine, lest it might bring on the' sickness 
 again. Takes very little food of any kind, but has a 
 fancy for that which is tasty. Attempted to take a 
 mouthful of beef or of mutton occasionally, which pro- 
 duced nausea and sometimes vomiting ; yet she took with 
 impunity a very small portion of roasted pork, and a 
 teaspoonful or two of potatoes mashed up with the 
 gravy, whilst the gravy of either of the other meats dis- 
 agreed with her stomach. 
 
 January 24th. — Is still worse. The pulse 160. Mr. 
 Tudor took twelve ounces of blood away, which was 
 cupped but not huffy. 
 
 Kepr. V. S. si sit occasio. 
 
 January 25th. — Mr. Tudor attempted to bleed Miss 
 M*x\voy this morning, but did not succeed. She had 
 been bled so often that the cicatrices were numerous and 
 hard, so that although the blood spurted out as soon as 
 the lancet entered, yet no more blood followed, and he 
 was obliged to give it up. At three o'clock, p. m. I 
 found her so very ill that I Was induced to tie up the 
 arm and make another attempt. The only point of the 
 
94 
 
 Medio. Basilic vein, that I could feel distiactly, was above 
 the cicatrices. 1 made a large incision fairly into the 
 vein, but only a spurt of blood followed, as if the vein 
 below were closed up by the thickening of its coats. — 
 I succeeded at last by making a large opening into the 
 vein of the left arm, and the blood rushed out with vio- 
 lence into my breast and face. Almost immediately the 
 hreathing, as I thought, became suspended, and I placed 
 my thumb upon the Q,ri£ice. Upon pressing the wrist I 
 felt no pulsation. Upon her recovery, which took place 
 in about a quarter of a minute, I took my thumb from 
 the orifice, and it rushed out with great violence, when 
 she again fainted. After this recovery, a third attempt 
 was made, s^nd syncope foHowed. Upon her recovery 
 the carotid arteries beat with unusual violence ; the lips 
 became pallid ; under the eyes and round the mouth, the 
 skin appeared of a pale blue colour; the handg were 
 oold and clammy, so that I felt myself bound to desist 
 from allowing the blood to How again. The pulse which 
 hftd been so frequent as 160 pulsations in the minute, 
 fell to 132 The violent pulsation of the carotid arteri^Si 
 abated ; yet, although she appeared languid, it was evi- 
 dent to me, as well as to herself, that the small quantity 
 of blood, which hardly exceeded two ounces, by having 
 been taken away so suddenly, had produced the full 
 effect of a larger bleeding. 
 
 January 26th, — Continues very feeble, but the more 
 violent symptoms are rather better. The pulse varies 
 from 144 to 160 pulsations in the minute, and is irregular 
 in fulness. Alvus astricta fuit per a|iquot dies. Urina 
 libere redditur. 
 
 January 27th. — Appears upon the whole better. Pulse 
 from 144 to 180, soft and easily compressible. The legs 
 
u 
 
 are more anasarcous, and the general appearance of the 
 face and body is leucophlegraatic, Alvus nimls deji- 
 eitiir. 
 
 January 30th. — Is very low, but in other respects bet- 
 ter. Complains of pain and lightness in the head, of sick- 
 ness at the stomach, but has not rejected the cup of cof- 
 fee and cream she took at breakfast. Pulse 144 to 160. 
 Diarrhoea tamen urget. 
 
 February 7th. — Continues much the same. Puis© 
 160, 
 
 February 9th . — Is rather worse. The swelling in both 
 legs, particularly the right, disappeared rather suddenly, 
 on Monday, and the abdomen is more tumid. Pulse from 
 120 to 144, and feeble. Takes very little food. Cutis 
 mollis. Diarrhoea tamen manet. 
 
 February 12th. — Has taken cold. The catching in the 
 breathing, the twisting about the region of the heart, and 
 the cough are increased. Her mother attributes the cold 
 Miss M'Avoy has caught, to her having fainted, and hav- 
 ing been exposed to the cold air, during the operation 
 of changing her linen. It seems she is in the habit of 
 doing this at night, and it is a very tedious business un- 
 der the circumstances in which she is placed. The 
 pulse is fuller, and more firm, from 120 to 144. Diarrhoea 
 urget. 
 
 ficpr. V. S. et detr. sang, quant, idonea* 
 
 February 13th. — Twelve ounces were taken away, the 
 blood was cupped and buffy, exhibiting the green pig- 
 ment at the bottom of each cup. The symptoms wevid 
 relieved after the bleeding, but returned tg-day with con- 
 
96 
 
 siderable violence. Complains of tightness, and of a sense 
 of weight across the chest. Pulse tolerably full, varying 
 from 120 to 144 pulsations in a minute. 
 
 Repr. V. S. u. ar 
 
 February 14th. — Fully fourteen ounces of blood were 
 obtained, which was slightly buffy and cupped. The se- 
 rum was in a much greater proportion to the crassamen- 
 tura, and was of a muddy whey-like appearance. She 
 was relieved by the bleeding, but the violent symptoms 
 again came on, and the cough was very severe and dis- 
 tressing. Pulse 144* Mr. Parr, a respectable practitio- 
 ner in Liverpool accompanied me in my visit. 
 
 February 15th. — Is rather better, but complains of 
 thirst and nausea, for which she has taken a pretty strong 
 lemonade, with temporary benefit. Complains of consi- 
 derable pain under the left clavicle, and of a sharp pain 
 strikiug through the tumour in the left side. 
 
 Repr. V. S. u. a. 
 
 February 16th. — I do not think her worse, but she 
 seems to yield more to her sufferings than usual. Mr. 
 Tudor attempted to bleed her this morning, but did not 
 succeed in obtaining any blood of moment. Mr. Thomas, 
 who accompanied me, also opened two veins without 
 effect. We observed her skin to be clammy and her 
 hands cold. He informs me when that was the case, 
 during the former attack, he seldom got any sufficient 
 quantity of blood ; and he was not singular in this re- 
 spect, as other gentlemen, who attempted to bleed her, 
 sometimes were foiled in a similar manner. Pulse from 
 144 to 168, irregular and slightly intermitting. Diarr- 
 hoea tamen urget. 
 
91 
 
 February 17th. — Continues very low. Cough less 
 harsh, and the other symptoms appear more moderate. 
 Pulse 144, soft and compressible. Alvus non tam^a li- 
 here solvitur. 
 
 February 19th. — Is rather better. Pulse 120. 
 
 February 20th.— Continues better, but the suspension 
 of breathing comes on occasionally during the night. 
 Pulse 136, soft and compressible. 
 
 February 21st. — Is still better. Was engaged in mak- 
 ing a purse, which she had not been able to do for a con- 
 siderable time. Pulse 120. Alvus astricta. 
 
 February 23d. — Goes on improving. PUlse 120. Mr. 
 Bradley, Surgeon of this town, having expressed a wish 
 to see Miss M'Avoy, accompanied me to-day. Mr. Brad- 
 ley was a pupil of the Manchester InGrmary, and had 
 the opportunity of seeing the practice of the late Mr. 
 Gibson, in diseases of the eyes, and also of Mr. Simmons, 
 a judicious and experienced Surgeon of that town. He 
 expressed himself as having no doubt of her blindness. 
 
 February 25th. — Is miich the sam6. Dr. Carson ac- 
 companied me in my visit. Pulse 144. Alvus tamea 
 astricta. 
 
 February 29th. — Is not so Well. Pulse 144. Alvus 
 fusa. 
 
 March 3d. — Continues much the same, but is only able 
 to net or sew for a short time together. 
 
 March 14th,— Since the last report she has been much 
 
 N 
 
9S 
 
 better , but a week ago was seized with more violent pain 
 at the back and in the front of the head, and through the 
 sockets of the eyes, with a throbbing sensation. The 
 anasarcous swelling of the legs in a great measure has sub- 
 sided, but the left appears to contain a quantity of fluid, 
 which moves from side to side, when it is pressed upon. 
 The back part of the leg has a deep indentation and a 
 blackish slough appears on the surfac^e. She is not aware 
 of having pressed the leg against any hard substance. 
 Mrs. Hughes applied poultices of bread and milk to the 
 part. Pulse 120. Alvus nimis solvitur. 
 
 March 18th.— Is rather better. The size of the left leg 
 is diminished and there is a slight discharge of fluid from 
 it. The blackness has disappeared. Pulse 120, soft and 
 compressible. 
 
 March 3 1st. — The poultice of bread and milk has been 
 changed for one cornposed of flour, yolk of ef^g^ and of 
 honey, which occasioned a freer discharge. Complain* 
 of a pain and weakness in the back, and of great soreness 
 through the whole length of the left thigh bone. Ap- 
 pears beltei* since this discharge has been more free ; and 
 has made two or three purses within the last ten days. 
 Hands cold afid clammy. t*ulse 120. Alvus soivitur 
 et liber^ redditur urina. 
 
 March 29th. — Is afi*ected with slight convulsive mo- 
 tions in the chest aiid diaphragm, with occasional cotl^h. 
 The left leg discharges through a spot of the size of a 
 crown-piece, at the back of the leg, which resembles the 
 icthyosis simpSdx. Pulse 120 to 144. Alvus liber^ solvitur. 
 Urina modicd redditur, sed cutti dolore. 
 
 April 2d. — Is somewhat better. Puis© lOS. 
 
99 
 
 April 6th. — Complains of faintishness, and general 
 weakness. In other respects is much the same. Pulse 
 140. 
 
 April 9th. — The left leg is less in size ; and the dis- 
 charge continues. Some days ago, I requested Mrs. 
 Hughes to apply a bread and milk poultice instead of the 
 honey, flour, and yolk of egg, which, from its colour, 
 did not allow me to see the nature of the fluid discharged 
 from the leg. The discharge was not so great, Mrs. 
 Hughes observed, as when the latter poultice was applied, 
 but there was a sufficient quantity of fluid upon the sur- 
 face of the bread and milk poultice, to give me an idea 
 of its nature. It appeared of the consistence and colour 
 of arrow root gruel, to which a very small quantity of 
 milk or cream had been added. Pulse 112. 
 
 April 29th. — Has complained for some days past of 
 shooting pains through the chest, with very slight catch- 
 ing in the breathing. Pulse from 116 to 120, moderate 
 in fulness. Alvus tamen liquatur. 
 
 May 2d. — Complains of throbbing, which had aff*ected 
 her for some time past, in the right side. The acute pain 
 in the leftside continues.^ Pule 120. Alvus fusa com- 
 pescitur. 
 
 May 11th. — Continues much the same. Dr. Meyler 
 accompanied me. We examined the abdomen and the 
 back. The fluctuation of some fluid was very percep- 
 tible in the lower part of the back, as before described, 
 and an enlargement was observed in both sides. Could 
 
 • Mr. Bagnold called upon me yesterday, to request permission for his rela- 
 tive Captain Bagnold of the Marines, to see Miss M'Ayoy, and they both met 
 me at Mr. Hughes's house to-<lay. ' 
 
100 
 
 bear slight pressure on the right, but not on the left 
 side. Pulse 130 before, but, after the examination, 144.* 
 
 May 19th. — Complains of the pain in the chest, but I 
 think her upon the whole better. Pulse from 100 to 
 108, moderate in fulness and in strength. Movetur 
 alvus modic^ 
 
 June 1st. — Continues much the same as at the last 
 report, except that her mouth is slightly affected by a 
 few pills she had taken of her owm accord, which were 
 composed of the siibmuriate of mercury. Pulse from 
 108 to 120. Alvus lene astringitur. 
 
 June 13th. — Complains rather more of the shooting 
 pains through the chest. The discharge from the left 
 leg was considerable until within a day or two ; and the 
 swelling, she says, on the lower part of her back, was 
 diminished. Pulse \\2. Alvus eietur lene. Urina 
 naturalis. 
 
 Fiat. v. S. et detr. sang, e brachio quant, idonea. 
 
 June 14th. — Mr. Thomas took away about eight ounces 
 of blood, when she became insensible. It was cupped 
 but not huffy. The green pigment was observed in both 
 cups. The crassamentum wa« firm upon the upper part, 
 but at the bottom the red particles were fluid, and united 
 with the serum, which was clear and in moderate quan- 
 tity, as it was poured into another bason. The shoot- 
 ing pains were relieved, but returned again in the even- 
 
 ♦ Sometimes during the day, when she lias not been disturbed by noise of 
 any kind, she will name asingle colour, or read a word or two with her fingers; 
 and she was able a few days ago to join exactly together, two pieces of printed 
 calico, without Mrs. Hughes's assistance. 
 
101 
 
 ing*, with slight catching in the breathing. Pulse 112 
 Alvus astricta. 
 
 Cap. Pil. Aloes c. Jalap Ui. bora somni. 
 
 June 15th. "The catching in the breathing comes on fre« 
 quently, but in a slight degree. Complains of the shoot- 
 ing pains through the chest, of pain in both sides, and 
 in the head. Pulse 120. Alvus compressa. 
 
 Repr. Pil. Cathart. u. a. Repr. V. S, 
 
 June 16th. — ^Mr. Thomas took away yesterday, about 
 seven ounces of blood, when she became insensible. It 
 was cupped, and in two of the cups the green pigment 
 was very visible. The catching in the breathing and the 
 pains which she felt through the chest are returned. Af- 
 ter this bleeding, the pulse which before had been at 132, 
 fell down to 80. The pulse to-day is 120, soft and com- 
 pressible. Alvus astricta. Urina modice sed cum dolore 
 redditur.^ 
 
 June 17th. — Complains of a violent stitch in the left 
 side, under the breast. Pulse 160, and tolerably firm. 
 Alvus leue solvitur. Repr. V. S. 
 
 June 18 — Complains very much of the stitch in the 
 left side, and of swelling all over her. Pulse from 112 
 to 120: moderately full, but occasionally interrupted in 
 
 • Miss M'Avoy wrote a note this morning to her Executor. She makes no 
 stops. She rules her paper with a knife, and writes upon the line thus formed. 
 When she finishes the writing of one word, she moves the hand a little for- 
 ward, by which means the words are sufficiently separated from each other. 
 It seems before her illness, she could hardly write at all, and although the 
 writing is not good, it is yet sufficiently distinguishable to be easily read. 
 Mrs. Hughes thinks she has written about as much as would fill a sheet of pa- 
 per, since her blindness commenced. Previous to her blindness, it is said she 
 could scarcely join the letters. 
 
ao2 
 
 its beat. Mr. Thomas was in the country, which per- 
 vented him from bleeding her this morning ; and as I 
 found his return uncertain, in the course of the day I 
 took about eight ounces of blood away — she became in- 
 sensible, but she breathe^, and the pulse beat; but she 
 did not recover during my stay, which was several mi- 
 liutes after I had tied up the arm. A part of the blood 
 was allowed to flow after she was insensible, but the 
 pulse became weaker and 108 in the minute. 
 
 June 19th.— Is better today. The catching in the 
 breathing is diminished ; and the stitch in the side i» 
 very much relieved. Pulse 120, soft and regular. Al- 
 vus modica. 
 
 June 22d. — The symptoms increasing in violence in- 
 duced Mr. Hughes to send for Mr. Thomas yesterday, 
 who took about eight ounces of blood, which relieved 
 the pain of the side, &c. Has employed herself in 
 making chimney ornaments and watch papers. Pulse 
 120, soft and compressible, 
 
 June 24th. — Is again much worse, and the pain in the 
 •ide more violent. Pulse 160. Alvus obstipata. 
 
 Rep; V. S. 
 
 June 27th. — Mr. Thomas had been so much engaged, 
 that he could not go out to bleed Miss M'Avoy either 
 yesterday or the day before ; and as there was some 
 doubt if he would be in town this morning, I thought it 
 improper to defer it for another day, as she was now suf- 
 fering acute pain. Her general appearance was leuco- 
 phlegmatic, attended with a cold clammy skin. The pulse 
 144, rather low than full. Having made a large open- 
 ing into the medio basilic vein, the blood spurtedout with 
 
103 
 
 fiiueh violence, and I obtained eight ounces in a very 
 short space of time, when she became insensible. The 
 blood still continued to flow, and five ounces were ta- 
 ken away. I took off the ligature, and the blood flowed 
 tiearly in as full a stream as before. I obtained about 
 three ounces more, when the pulse began to flag, and I 
 tied up the arm. The pulse was reduced to 1^ pulsa* 
 tlons in the minute; 
 
 June 29th. — Is better, but the stitch in the left side 
 comes on occasionally. Within a few days she has com- 
 plained of a sensation, diff'ering from that of the cold 
 ting of iron she felt before, as if a drop of the coldest 
 trater h&d fallen upon the spot internally, from whence 
 the stitch arose, ceasing during the time of the stitch, 
 but the sensation of the cold ring was still felt as before. 
 Pulse 120. Alvus obstipatur. 
 
 Rep. V. S. si sit occasio, vespere. 
 
 July 1st. — Is niuch worse. Mr. Thomas had not 
 been able to visit Miss M*Avoy, from his other engage- 
 ments ; and the bleeding had been put off* until she 
 found herself so very ill that he was again sent for. She 
 continued to grow worse, and was so ill in the evening 
 when I visited her, that I thought it proper to bleed 
 her. Sixteen ounces of blood were taken iaway in a full 
 stream. She became insensible when about half the 
 quantity was taken ; and once I observed the suspension 
 of breathing to take place for a few seconds. Has been 
 troubled with cough for three or four days. Pulse from 
 120 to 144.# Alvus liquatur. 
 
 * Mir. Knowles, of Bootle, and the Rey. J. Fawctt of Carlisle, met me at 
 lialf past, instead of a quarter before seven o'clock, p. m. owing to some delay 
 in crossing from one of the ferries on the Cheshire side, which they had not cal- 
 ••ulatsd itpoa. Knowing th* eff«ct the blesdiuw would have in producinjj A 
 
104 
 
 July 6th. — Mr. Thomas bled her again yesterday to 
 the amount of seven ounces, when she fainted. The 
 pulse had fallen from 144 to 80 after the bleeding, but 
 in a little time it repeatedly varied from one extreme 
 to the other. The severe symptoms having recurred, I 
 took from the arm six ounces of blood. Pulse 144 be- 
 fore, and varying from 96 to 108 after the bleeding, and 
 slightly intermitting. 
 
 July 4th.— She was relieved much from the bleeding 
 yesterday, but towards evening the violent stitch in the 
 left side returned. I opened a vein again to-day, and 
 obtained four ounces of blood. The pulse was 144; it 
 fell after the bleeding to 120, and then varied from 132 
 to 144. I observed some slight convulsive twitchings 
 about the mouth and face. Became very soon insen- 
 sible, and the suspension of breathing came on twice 
 during my stay. 
 
 July 6th. — Complains still of the stitch in the side, and 
 slight catching in the breathing with a harsh cough, but 
 upon the whole she is rather better, and was able to sew 
 for a short space of time.* Pulse 120, and easily com- 
 pressible. Alvus astricta. 
 
 July 7th. — Is very poorly to-day, and looks worse than 
 usual. There is a blue appearance under the eyes, upon 
 
 state of insensibility, I deferred the operation to the last moment of my stay, 
 these gentlemen had iiot the opportunity of conversing with her, and of judg- 
 ing of her situation, as I could have wished. She could barely answer a ques- 
 tion when we left her. 
 
 • I suddenly made a noise in breaking a piece of Spanish juice, which I had 
 in my pocket, and she fell back insensible; but she did not appear to know 
 what hjid occasioned this insensibility, when I ask€fi her the question, after her 
 recovery. 
 
*97 
 
 the chin, and the forehead. Her face seems more leu- 
 eophlegmatic than usual. Has complained for two or 
 three days of a sensation, as if her body were swung to 
 and fro, and of a very unpleasant whirling in her head. 
 The temporary relief she obtains from bleeding, made 
 her anxious that it should be repeated. I obtained 
 about nine ounces of blood. She became insensible, and 
 was once seized with suspension of breathing previous 
 to being bled. Dr. Hill of Greenock, accompanied me, 
 and we left her insensible, but the pulse which had at 
 first been 120, and irregular, was increased to 144, upoii 
 placing the hand near the mouth. After the bleeding 
 it varied from 120 to 144, but was more regular, less full, 
 and easily compressible. Her food has consisted latterly 
 of a cup of coifee and cream, morning and evening, and 
 a tea spoonful or two of mashed potatoes, at dinner ; both 
 rabbit and fowl have been given, but none of them 
 agreed with her, even in the smallest quantity. 
 
 July 8th. — Is better. The blood was slightly cupped, 
 and in the first cup the green pigment was perceptible. 
 This appearan-^ie has taken place in all the latter bleed- 
 ings, but in the last cup, which generally contained the 
 smallest quantity of blood, and of a more florid colour 
 it was seldom seen. Pulse 120. Alvus astricta. Urina 
 modica sed cum dolore redditur. 
 
 July lOth. — Complains still of the stitch in her side and 
 of cough. Pulse 144. Alvus nimis liquatur. Repr. V. S. 
 I obtained only two ounces of blood. 
 
 Repr. V. S. vespare. 
 
 July nth.— Was not bled again yesterday, but as she 
 complained of the stitch in the side, 1 took away about 
 fifteen ounces of blood, in a full stream. The Pulse was 
 
 N ^ 
 
98 
 
 144, full and irregular: after the bleeding it fell to 120, 
 became soft, compressible, and regular. She was insen- 
 sible after half the quantity was taken away, and the 
 suspension of breathing coming on afterwards, I tied up 
 the arm. I remained in the room nearly half an hour 
 after she was bled, but she continued insensible, and did 
 not recover for an hour. The blood was cupped. 
 
 July 12th. — The bleeding relieved her. The cough 
 is more loose, and attended with slight expectoration. 
 Culse varying from 120 to 144. Diarrhoea manet. 
 
 July 13th. — Complains very much of the stitch in her 
 side, and of sickness at the stomach. Has taken to-day 
 only a single cup of coffee and cream, and a few straw- 
 berries. Pulse from 120 to 144, not easily to be counted. 
 I took twelve ounces of blood away ; she became insensi- 
 ble, and the suspension of breathing occurred three or 
 four times before the arm was tied up. The pulse fell to 
 112, was more regular and soft. Alvus liquatur. Urina 
 naturalis. 
 
 July 14th. — Continued for a considerable time insensi- 
 ble after I left her. The blood was cupped but not buffy. 
 The green pigment was observed in two of the cups. Ap- 
 pears very faint, but the pain in the side, the catching in 
 the breathing, and cough are considerably relieved. 
 Pulse 144, soft, compressible, and uninterrupted in its 
 beat. Has been affected with inflammation of the toes, 
 terminating in suppuration. The discharge from the 
 left leg is very slight at present. 
 
 July 16th.— Is so very low that speaking oppresses her. 
 Complains of the stitch in the left side; takes only sugar 
 and water as food, with a little fruit. Pulse 144. Alrut 
 minus liquatur. 
 
§9 
 
 July 16th. — Is no better. Cannot bear the least inter- 
 ruption to her breathing. If a person sit between her 
 and the window, which is generally open in the day time, 
 she feels uneasiness, and very soon will request him to 
 remove his seat to either side. Pulse 144. I took about 
 six ounces of blood away. The breathing became sus- 
 pended five or six times during my stay, and the pulse 
 fell to 120, vv>as regular but feeble ; when she breath- 
 ed I did not observe so much of the catching, and her 
 respiration was much less interrupted than before. I left 
 her insensible. j 
 
 July 17th. — Continues very low. Pulse varying from 
 120 to 144. 
 
 July 18th. — Is worse. Pulse 144, and more full than 
 yesterday. Mr. Bradley who accompanied me opened a 
 vein, and we obtained about fourteen ounces of blood by 
 a full stream. Insensibility came on, and occasional sus- 
 pension of breathing, and we left her in that state, which 
 continued for an hour and a half. 
 
 July 19th. — Is very low. The right leg; is more swell- 
 ed , but the stitch in the side and the catching in the breath- 
 ing are less violent. Pulse varying from 120 to 132. Has 
 taken little or no food but sugar and water, and a tea 
 spoonful or two of weak broth, which produced diarrhoea. 
 The thermometer was 92 in the room, 96 in the hands, 
 and 106 in the mouth: there was a fire in the room. 
 
 July 20th,^— Is again worse. The pulse 144, moderately 
 full. The countenance leucophlegmatie, pale, and of a 
 blue appearance. The oppression in the breathing was 
 so great that I bled her to the amount of eight ounces, 
 through a large orifice. She became insensible, withosn 
 casional suspension of breathing. 
 
100 
 
 July 21st. — Found her very low, and scarcely able tcr 
 speak, but the other symptoms appeared less violent. The 
 blood taken away yesterday was cupped and buffy, par- 
 ticularly in the first cup. The upper part of the crassa- 
 mentum, and for half an inch down, it was of a vermi- 
 lion colour, but the lower part was of a deep red. It was 
 so solid that I held it up on the point of a knife : the 
 green pigment was observable in the first c ip, and more 
 slightly so, in the second. The pulse 120, moderate in 
 fulness, and easily compressible. The strawberries and 
 the broth disagree with her stomach. Diarrhoea tamen 
 %rget. 
 
 July 22d, — I found her very low, and desponding ; in 
 a great measure doubting the possibility of her recovery ; 
 but my hope of it taking place for a short time, is not al- 
 together given up. Her pulse is moderate in frequency 
 and fulness, rather low, aud 120 in its pulsations. Urget 
 valde diarrhoea, 
 
 July 23d. — Is very low, and occasionally affected with 
 twitchings in the cheeks and in the angles of the mouth. 
 Complains of frequent numbness in the arms and should 
 ders, and sometimes of pain in the cheeks After the pain 
 has gone off she feels a numbness in the cheeks. The abdo- 
 men feels to herself more enlarged,but the anasarcous swel^ 
 ling in the legs is not diminished. Complains of much pjvin 
 in the head and in the sockets of the eyes. Cannot support 
 her head in an upright posture, but is obliged to lean it 
 upon the pillow. Pulse 132, soft and compressible. Al- 
 vus nimis liquatur. Nausea supervenit, vomitu conco- 
 raitata subindd. Capt. bis vel ter de die spiritus arden- 
 tis ordinarii cochleare minimum ex aquae et sacchari 
 pauxillo. 
 
101 '^^ 
 
 July 24th.— She was enabled to keep down half a tea 
 cupful of thin broth three times a day, by taking the 
 weakly diluted spirit a few minutes before; but, if it 
 happened that the broth were not given almost immedi- 
 ately after this small quantity of spirit, it produced a 
 burning sensation in the stomach. Complains very much 
 of pain and weakness ; but she is not worse than yester- 
 day. Pulse 120, soft and compressible. 
 
 July 26th.~-Is rather better. Pulse 120. 
 
 July 26th.— Is very ill to-day. Her countenance hai^ 
 a death-like appearance, her lips pallid, but the eyes, 
 when opened, are particularly brilliant, and the pupils 
 considerably dilated. Complains of more violent pain 
 in the head, and in the sockets of the eyes. The pain in 
 the back part of the head is so acute, she cannot bear 
 the least pressure upon it without much suffering, and 
 she says the same sensibility to pain extends along the 
 spine to the os sacrum. Has also a throbbing sensation 
 extending from the pit of the stomach to the back be- 
 tween the shoulder blades, somewhat similar to the flut- 
 tering of a bird within her. Pulse 120, soft, regular, but 
 more feeble. Nausea frequenter, usque ad vomitum, 
 supervenit. Diarhoea tamen urget. Urinaparca. I gave 
 her twenty drops of vin. ipechuan. which made her very 
 faint and sick ; but it operated slightly, and a little bile 
 was thrown up. 
 
 July 27th. — Continues much the same. The accidental 
 clanking of the fire irons produced insensibility. The 
 anasarcous swelling of the lower extremities is increased, 
 and extends up the thighs. The hands and arms are also 
 considerably affected with it, and pit on pressure. Pulse 
 
 120. Diarrhaa manet sed dejectiones minimae cum 
 
102 
 
 tenesmo sappe redduntur. Capt. vespere infus. sennac 
 cyathum. 
 
 July 28th. — Mr. Nairn, who accompanied me yester- 
 day, made several scarifications in the left leg ; but they 
 hardly discharged any serous fluid. Pulse 120. Infa- 
 «um sennse in ventriculum acceptum statim evomuit. 
 
 July 29th. — Continues much the same. Dr.JHannay 
 accompanied me. I passed the end of a bodkin along 
 the cornea and over the pupil, so as evidently to depress it 
 without a tear escaping, or an expression of pain. The 
 left leg was again scarified. Pulse 120. 
 ' ' ■» '' '-. 
 
 •^(ily 80th — Is rather better than yesterday ; but com- 
 plains of sickness. I scarified the right leg in several 
 places to-day. Pulse 120. Capt. mist. Alkal. c. sue. 
 iimoQ. more golito siurgeat nausea. 
 
 Hora somni Rep. Pil. Cathart. u. a. 
 
 July 31st. — The saline medicine relieved the sickness 
 for a considerable time. The pills were not taken. Pulse 
 120. E crure dextro sc&rificato detrahitur libere humor 
 serosus. Alvi dejectiones minuuntur. 
 
 Capt. vini Lusitanici meri aqua commixti pauxillum subinde. 
 
 August 1st. — Is rather better. Port wine formerly did 
 not agree with her ; but that which was given to her 
 yesterday, being very old, produced no unpleasant sen- 
 sation upon the stomach, and revived her very much. She 
 got a little sleep after taking it. Was requested to take it 
 mixed with arrow- root gruel, in small quantities. Pulse 
 120, regular and moderately compressible. Urina parc^ 
 cum dolore redditur. Diarrhoea cessavit. 
 
103 
 
 August 2d,— I found her very ill, and her* countenance 
 was still more changed for the worse, than I had ever 
 seen it. The swelling- of the face and neck certainly dis- 
 appeared, but that of the extremities was not diminished. 
 Complained of oppression all over her. Had considera- 
 ble catching in the breathing, and pain about the region 
 of the heart. Had taken a savoy buiscuit, which ap- 
 peared to lie heavy upon her stomach. Pulse 120. 
 Alvus non solvitur. Vexat aegre prolapsus ani vei 
 haemorrhois. 
 
 Capt. viu. Ipec. gttg. x. quaque hor« parte quarta donee vomitum excitent; 
 
 August 3d. — The Ipecacuhana Wine was not given to 
 her, as she had thrown up the contents of the stomach. 
 Takes no food, but the wine diluted with water. Pulse 
 120. Alvus astringitur. 
 
 August 4. — Is not materially worse than yesterday, 
 but the Pulse vacillates mor© than it has done latterly. 
 Mr. Thomas felt the left arm and 1 the right at the same 
 moment. He stated the pulse at 130 pulsations in the 
 minuie. I stated it at 96. We were both right, and it 
 varied afterwards from this lower point to 132. It fal- 
 tered more than usual, and once or twice Mr. Thomas 
 thought he felt little or no pulsation in the wrist. 
 
 Yesterday, after she had received the last rites of her 
 church, her breathing became interrupted, and she suf- 
 fered under a temporary convulsion. A similar effect 
 was produced in the night, and this morning ; she called 
 the sensation a death fit. Her general appearance in- 
 dicates a speedy termination to her sufferings, but there 
 is that sort of tenacity of life about her, that although 
 I hope little, I do not despair of a temporary recovery. 
 The wind cherij<hes her, and she feels better each time 
 
i^S^:^^.; 
 
 she takes it ; and it seems in some measure to counteract 
 the debilitating effects of a copious discharge from the 
 right leg, which was scarified a few days ago, in a habit 
 already reduced to an extreme point. Formerly wine 
 and tonics produced no good •ffect, but always heated 
 her extremely. Medicine can be of little use in this 
 case. Arrow root gruel and wine in small quantities, 
 and repeated every half hour, have been only recom- 
 mended, with the occasional use of French brandy in 
 doses of thirty or forty drops at a time, diluted with 
 water. 
 
 August 6th.— Is not so ill as yesterday ; and her coun- 
 tenance is rather improved. Complains of much pain 
 under the left and of occasional pain in the right 
 breast, but it is not so violent as before the bleeding. 
 Takes only diluted wine and water, which refreshes and 
 agrees with her. The arrow-root gruel made her sick. 
 Pulse 120, and more steady than yesterday. Alvus ob- 
 stipatur. Urina parca cum dolore elieitur. Retrocessit 
 prolapsus ani. 
 
 August 6th.— Continues better, but has little of no 
 power in assisting herself. The discharge from the right 
 leg is so considerable, as to wet through all the linen co- 
 veringv«, the covered stool upon which her feet are plac- 
 ed, and even to fall upon the carpet. After I left her 
 yesterday, she ate a very small quantity of boiled Ray; 
 previous to, and after her taking it, she swallowed a 
 very small tea-spoonful of brandy and water, which not 
 only agreed with her stomach, but prevented any sick- 
 ness To-day she ate a sop of bread and gravy with 
 impunity. Complains of a slight sore throat. Several 
 of the scarifications which were made in both legs, at 
 first occasioned a puriform discharge. Those I made 
 
97 
 
 last in the right leg, discharge a serous fluid in very 
 considerable quantity, to which I chiefly attribute the 
 amelioration of the symptoms which so lately indicated 
 approaching death. The wine and brandy have contri- 
 buted to support a frame, which might otherwise have 
 «unk under so great a discharge. Every one who has 
 seen her for the last few weeks, has supposed it impos- 
 sible she could survive, even a single day. Pulse 108. 
 Alvus obstipatur. Urinse redidit semilibram hodi^. 
 
 August 7th. — Continues much the same. The dis- 
 charge from the right leg is very considerable. Her 
 face seems emaciated, and her general appearance cada- 
 verous. The anasarcous swelling is rather reduced. 
 The pulse under these circumstances is more firm than 
 one could expect; it gives from 108 to 112 pulsations in 
 the minute. Alvus non soluta tuit per aliquot dies. 
 Urina parc^ elicitur. Produxit nauseam vinum. 
 
 Mr. Robert Harrison, one of the demonstrators of ana*, 
 tomy, to the school of surgery in Dublin, Mr. Nairn, 
 Mr. Hensman, and Mr. McDonald, of the Dispensary, 
 were present to-day. Mr. Harrison pressed a probe 
 upon the pupil of each eye. He observed that the pu- 
 pil dilated more upon the pressure, but the eye seemed 
 otherwise insensible to the application of the probe. The 
 thermometer held in the hands was 92® ; in the mouti} 
 100; and in the room with a fire 88^. 
 
 August 8th. — About five o'clock, a. m. Mr. Hughes 
 called upon, and requested me to visit his step- 
 daughter as soon as possible, as he thought she 
 could not live an hour. I saw her at half-past five, 
 Mr. Thomas was present, and had given her a teaspoon- 
 full of a mixture of spir. ammon. comp. Spir cam- 
 phor, <fe Tinct, eardam. comp. in a Utile water, which 
 
u 
 
 relieved and occasioned her to throw up a good deal of 
 wind from the stomach. Complained of violent pain in 
 the head, of excruciating torment in the stomach and 
 bowels, and of a painful sense of weight above the os pu- 
 bis. Mr. Thomas pressed his hand upon the abdomen 
 without exciting any material sensation of pain, and he 
 observed that the tumour in the leftside was not to be 
 felt; but the pressure of his hand caused a faintish sick- 
 ness. The pulse is moderately firm and regular, 108 in 
 the minute. Her mother had giv^en her six drachms of 
 Tinch. rhei. which produced no good effect. Urina sup- 
 pressa fuit per aliquot horas; et reddendi earn nisus do- 
 lore multo concomitantur. Pulse 120. 
 
 Hora prima post meridiem. Found her very poorly in 
 the morning. Complains of a soreness in the throat. I ob- 
 served her to swallow with difficulty and the effort seem- 
 ed to give her pain. She had been anxious to make her 
 Will, which, after it had been written, was placed upon her 
 lap for a few minutes, when she made a grasp to lay hold of 
 it, but did not succeed in placing her hand upon it at first. 
 She at last succeeded with the assistance of Mr. Thomas, 
 but in the moment of success became convulsed, and the 
 convulsion was so violent that I thought it would most 
 probably terminate in death. After some time she reco- 
 vered and was able to speak. Mr. Harrison and Mr. 
 IJdny came in ; and I whispered to the former to ask her 
 if she had the least perception of sight? She answered 
 no. Sordescont os et deutes. Urina non elicita fuit. 
 Pulse 108 to 116. The eyes are much more vivid in ap- 
 pearance than I c,ould have expected, but they are insen^ 
 iible to the application of the finger. 
 
 Hora septima, n. m. Is much the same. Slight spas- 
 modic twitchings affect her face and hands. There 
 is moisture upon her skin. Pulse rather more than 100, 
 and somewhat more feeble. Alvus nirnU obstipatur. 
 
S9 
 
 August 9th. — It seems she continued in much the samt 
 state until midnight, when she was seized with a most 
 horrible convulsion, and, before Mrs. Hughe* could 
 render her assistance, fell upon the floor. She reco- 
 vered from this attack, and about three o'clock an end 
 was put to the miseries of as patient a sufferer as in th« 
 whole course of my practice, I ever attended. 
 
 At ten o'clock this morning, Mr. Thomas sent me th« 
 information of MissM^Avoy's death, and I went out very 
 floon after to Mr. Hughes's house. On the road I met 
 Mr. Hughes going to town. Knowing that he had 
 a personal objection to the examination of MissM'Avoy's 
 body, I condoled with him upon her death, but expressed 
 satisfaction that a period was put to the distressing suf- 
 ferings of his step-daughter. He then mentioned that, 
 as it was the wish of Mrs. Hughes, and had been parti- 
 cularly stated to him by Miss M'Avoy when alive as her 
 wish, he consented to it. Having observed the vacillatioq 
 of his temper on some occasions, and as it was of great 
 consequence to obtain all the information such an exa- 
 mination might afford, I hastened to the house and ar- 
 ranged the time with Mrs. Hughes, who, on account of 
 her own feelings, wished it to take place as soon as pos- 
 sible. Half-past two, p. m. was fixed upon, and I re- 
 turned to town to repeat the directions I had befor«i 
 given to Mr. Davidson at the Infirmary, to have every 
 thing ready at that hour. I at the same time directed 
 him to send notice (in my name) to Dr. Trail, Dr. Form- 
 by, Dr. McCartney, Dr. Brandieth, Mr. Bickersteth, Mr. 
 Forshaw, and to Mr. Dawson, to request their atten- 
 dance at that hour. To Mr. Brandreth, who was at th« 
 Infirmary at the time, 1 made a verbal request, but in 
 consequence of an inflammation of the face, he was 
 obliged to give up the wish he had to be present at th© 
 examination. A note was also sent to Dr. Carion> and 
 
100 
 
 1 totally forgot to send one to Drs. Jardine, Hannay, and 
 several others who were interested in the case. Owing to 
 the time of the day, the other gentlemen I presume, were 
 not able to attend, but their absence was rendered of less 
 importance than it otherwise would have been, by the at- 
 tendance of other medical gentlemen of the town. The 
 situation of Miss M*Avoy, particularly on the 8th inst. 
 induced Mr. Harrison above mentioned, to await the 
 period of her dissolution, and I was happy to avail myself 
 of his experience and ability in dissection, to investigate 
 the cause of her death, and by this means, if it were 
 possible, to account for many of the extraordinary symp- 
 toms which appeared to harrass her so much. I had 
 two other reasons for preferring Mr. Harrison to any of 
 our own surgeons, because the one party might be guid- 
 ed too much by personal regard to me, and by the con- 
 viction of their own mind of the truth of the statements 
 I had made in the Narrative, and of their co-incidence 
 with their own observations. And secondly, because the 
 prejudice which had been excited by the opponents of 
 Miss M*Avoy, had had material influence in making ma- 
 ny of my brethren so completely adverse to the opinions 
 I had formed, that I should not have been justified by 
 the immediate friends of Miss M'Avoy, nor to those ad- 
 vocates who have expressed themselves in her favour, 
 if I had left the examination to them. 
 
 From these considerations, I think, I shall be justified in 
 having requested Mr. Harrison to use the knife, in pre- 
 ference to any of our own surgeons, who could hardly 
 under the circumstances of the case, be considered free 
 from prejudice on the one side or on the other. 
 
C^wn*ul #Jj^frXJaptJijiw0 
 
 UPON 
 
 ^jmn ®^^iB mm mum m''AW(^ii'^ 
 
 I 
 
 HAVE now given the particulars of the case of Miss 
 M*Avoy, from the period of the publication of the Nar- 
 rative, to the present time, and if any other evidence were 
 necessary for the confirmation of the statement therein 
 it might be easily obtained from the testimony of nume- 
 rous individuals who have visited her separately and 
 with me. 
 
 The circumstance which has given her opponents the 
 fairest opportunity of railing at Miss M'Avoy and her 
 adherents, arose from misconception in the first place, 
 respecting the influence of her breath, and the mode in 
 which she supposed it to act in her distinction of colour, 
 &c. Miss M'Avoy found that when her breath was im- 
 peded by any substance placed before her mouth, she 
 could rarely distinguish a colour, or read a letter ; and 
 she naturally enough supposed that freedom of breathing 
 
 o 
 
106 
 
 was necessary to, and had some connection with, the 
 power. Her opinion was taken up without due consi- 
 deration, and her opponents seized the advantage, 
 although aware it was founded upon an erroneous basis^ 
 and could not be supported. 
 
 A moment's reflection should have prevented the per- 
 severance of herself and many of her friends in such an 
 opinion, for if the breath were necessary to the elucida- 
 tion of the colour, how could it act when she told 
 colours behind her, or read under the bed-clothes ? 
 
 During" the very short interval of unconsciousness that 
 any obstruction was placed near her mouth, I have seen 
 her distinguish colours, the next moment she has lost the 
 power, and has recovered it again upon the obstruction 
 being removed ; circumstances likely to excite a suspi- 
 cion that the failure of the power originated in the inter- 
 ception of the rays of light. 
 
 If the obstructing? medium were placed at a greater 
 distance, she would name colours, read, &c. for a longer 
 period, until she felt the effect of this obstruction, and 
 then she would often lose the power ; but sometimes 
 she continued to tell colours, although a sheet of paper, 
 a hat or any other substance were placed between the 
 object and her breath. If her mind were occupied by 
 answering questions or hearing any observation which 
 entertained her, or if she were subjected to excess of 
 pain from any accidental cause, the obstruction was not 
 noticed so soon. The effect of any interposed medium 
 was nearly the same whether the eyes were covered or 
 uncovered. A similar result occurred, if a plate of glass 
 were placed between the object and her mouth, through 
 "which she might have seen, if the opinion of her oppo- 
 
nents were correct, and the colour were distinguished by 
 the assistance of the eyes, 
 
 During the more violent attacks of catching in the 
 breathing, and of the convulsive motion of the dia- 
 phragm, the hand, placed near the mouth, and kept 
 there for a few seconds, produced a sensation nearly 
 allied to syncope, and more than once convulsion ensued. 
 Even now when these symptoms are considerably reliev- 
 ed, she cannot bear any obstruction of this kind for 
 more than a few seconds, without attempting to remove it. 
 
 The powers attributed to Miss M*Avoy were certainly 
 of so extraordinary a nature as to excite a doubt of their 
 truth in the mind of the least sceptical person who has 
 not witnessed them ; but it has been my uniform wish 
 they should be minutely examined, and their accuracy 
 explored by individuals capable of judging, and every 
 facility has been afforded by the friends of Miss M'Avoy, 
 and by herself for this purpose. 
 
 It is however impossible to satisfy the minds of persons 
 who are determined not to be convinced, and who will 
 not take the trouble of visiting her, and of examining into 
 the nature of her case, Nor shall I make any further 
 effort to produce that conviction in their minds ; but to 
 those who have studied the ample page of nature, in a 
 liberal and enlightened manner, and to the public in 
 general, T think I shall be able to assign such reasons as 
 will satisfy them, not only of her having possessed the 
 powers stated in the narrative, but of her blindness, 
 
 The failure which so frequently occurred had more or less 
 effect in agitating her, particularly if it happened when 
 visitors were present. This agitation almost uniformly 
 
108 
 
 increased the tendency to failure, and she could not name 
 a colour, read a letter, or ev^en sew for hours, for days, 
 and sometimes for weeks. This circumstance has been 
 strongly urged as a material point against her, but I 
 would rather adduce it as a proof in her favour, for if 
 Miss M'Avoy's powers depended solely upon the faculty 
 of vision, I see no reason why she might not have nam- 
 ed a colour, read a few words, or distinguished a seal, 
 when placed within the line of vision, yet under these 
 circumslances she often failed, whether covered or un- 
 covered, whether in a room crowded with company, or 
 quietly seated by a single friend. This temporary failure 
 of her powers has been attributed to cunning, to the 
 object being within the line of vision, and, by not a small 
 number, to her state of health which made her more 
 easily susceptible of external impressions. Upon the 
 first view of the subject, it would not appear difficult to 
 ascertain whether Miss M'Avoy were blind or she could 
 see, and I still think it is not so impossible of proof as 
 her opponents wish to insinuate. Miss M'Avoy has cer- 
 tainly given proofs of her powers before numerous and 
 highly respectable witnesses, and in situations, where, if 
 she had the most perfect vision, it could not have assisted 
 her, either in the distinction of colours, in reading, or in 
 naming the time of the day. When I recapitulate some 
 of these proofs which have have been stated in the 
 narrative, and a few others-which have since occurred, 
 the public will probably agree with me, I have not 
 advanced auy but what I can fairly and honestly substan- 
 tiate. When duly considered, this occasional loss of 
 power will be found to depend upon causes which owe 
 their origin to the very peculiar state of the nervous sys- 
 tem, in a habit materially diseased. This nervous irrita- 
 bility was generally increased, when the atmosphere was 
 loaded with electric fluid, and she then very rarely gave 
 
109 
 
 any proof of her powers, but appeared agitated and 
 uneasy. Fine weather and a clear sky exhilarated, but 
 moist and dull weather depressed her spirits.* 
 
 • From this peculiar state of her feelings, she would often foretel the 
 approach of a thunder-storm, and she once felt a sensation she could not 
 account for, previous to hearing the report of a cannon from a vessel of war, 
 lying about four miles from the place where Miss M'Avoy resides. Could 
 this sensitiveness have been produced from the cfTects of vibration acting upon 
 a highly irritable fibre ? I have known instances of other persons affected in 
 this way, previous to the report of cannon. It is said Sir Edward Pellew 
 saved himself from destruction by some consciousness of this kind, when the 
 Amphion blew up. There is a woman residing in Liverpool, who is deaf 
 and dumb ; yet she knew when the guns at the fort were fired, by some 
 peculiar effect it had upon the nervous fibre ; and a similar effect was pro- 
 duced by the crying of her infant, which was up stairs, at the time the mother 
 was speaking to a person in the room below. Mr. Thomas attended this 
 patient, in her confinenaent. Mr. Nairn mentions the case of a man who 
 gained his livelihood by shooting wild fowl in Belfast Lough. He was so 
 nearly blind, he could scarcely see any object at the shortest distance ; but his 
 hearing was peculiarly acute. He was accustomed to get into his boat, and 
 float down the Lough to the place which the birds frequented. By their cry, 
 and the flapping of the wings, he knew when to place his gun at a proper 
 distance, upon a resting-place in the boat, and he fired as his ear intimated to 
 him the situation of the birds. Other individuals, it is said, followed a similar 
 employment, but not one of them with so much success as this poor man. 
 
 A still more extraordinary case has been mentioned to me, by the Rev. J. 
 Hornby, of Winwick, as it was related to him by the Rev. G. Chippendale. 
 jNIr. Hornby sent me the letter of Mr. Chippindale, from which I have ex- 
 tracted the following paragraph. 
 
 " Some years back, probably five or six, a young gentleman of the name of 
 Arrowsmith, a member of the Royal Academy, at* Somerset House, but of 
 what degree I cannot remember, came down into this country, and resided 
 some months in Warrington, in the exercise of his profession, as a miniature 
 portrait painter. He was quite deaf, so much so as to be entirely dumb ; he 
 had been taught to write, and wrote an elegant hand, in which he was able to 
 express his own ideas with facility ; and was also able to read and understand 
 the ideas of others expressed in writing. It will scarcely be credited that a 
 person thus circumstanced should be fond of music, but this was the 
 fact, in the case of Mr. Arrowsmith. He was at a gentleman's glee club, in 
 Warrington, of which I was President at that time; and, as the glees were 
 sung, he would place himself near some article of wooden furniture, or a par- 
 tition, door, or window-shutter, and would fix the extreme ends of his finger- 
 
no 
 
 Another argument has been advanced in proof of her 
 possessing the organ of vision by her opponents, and has 
 
 nails, which he kept rather long, upon the edge of the wood, or some project- 
 ing part of it, and there he would remain till the piece under performance was 
 finished; all the while expressing by the most significant gestures, the pleasure 
 he experienced from his perception of the musical sounds. He was not so 
 much pleased with a solo as a pretty full crash of harmony ; and if the music 
 was not very good, or pci liaps I should say, if it was not so correctly executed, 
 he would shew no sensation of pleasure. But the most extraordinary circum- 
 stance in this case is, that he was evidently most delighted with those passages 
 in which the composer displayed his science by modulating in different keys ; 
 when such passages hapi>enedto be executed with precision, he could scar<^ely 
 repress tlve emotions of pleasure he received within any bounds ; for the 
 delight he evinced seemed to border on extacy. This was exi>re5sed most 
 remarkably, at our club, when the glee was sung with which we often con- 
 cluded ; it is by Stephens, and begins with the words, " Ye spotted snakes,'* 
 from Rhakspeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. In the second stanza, on 
 the words, " Weaving spiders, come not here, &c." there is some modulation 
 of the kind above alluded to ; and Mr. Arrowsmith was in raptures at it, such 
 as Mould not have been exceeded in one who wsis in full possession of the sense 
 of hearing. These facts are verj' extraordinary ones ; and that they are facts 
 can be proved by the evidence of six or eight gentlemen who were present, and 
 by turns observed him accurately. I have not heard any thing of him since 
 the time above mentioned ; but it is probable he is yet living, for he could not 
 be more than thirty years old, six years ago. He came to Warrington a 
 stranger, and I think no one here knov.-s either his country or his address, 
 But, as a meniber of the Royal Academy, he may easily be found," 
 AVinn-ick, Nov. 1, 18 17. 
 
 Mr. Bullock, of London, informed me, this gentleman was known to him. 
 
 If we reason by analogy, these instances will afford a proof of the substitu; 
 tion of peculiar power in one for the loss of another of our corporeal organs. 
 Indeed it is curious often to observe the effect of any disease or injury acting 
 immediately upon the sensorium, and more particularly in cases of derange- 
 ment. In the former case the most irregular motions, or the most quiescent 
 state, may take place, as the brain is acted upon by exciting or by debilitating 
 f auses. In the latter it mciy give a man, who before was hardly able to perform 
 the common duties of life, h» original and forcible mode of thinking, which, 
 previous to th's deranged action upon the brain was never contemplated. It 
 may transform a man of the dullest ideas into a sublime poet. It may change 
 the character of the most mild, una-ssuming, and modest female, into the most 
 |>as4on:ite, obstrusivC; and salsicious chaiacter. Reverse the circumstance, bv 
 
Ill 
 
 been urged forcibly against her, even by professional 
 men, because they observed the pupil occasionally to 
 contract and dilate. A few remarks upon the construc- 
 tion and action of the Iris, will not, I hope, bo deemed 
 irrelevant. 
 
 The Iris is the variously coloured circle surrounding 
 the pupil, which, as it were, perforates its centre. It is 
 placed as a curtain before the crystaline lens ; contracts 
 in a healthy state upon the sudden exposure to a vivid 
 light, or when we look at things very near the eye, and 
 dilates in a weak light, or in viewing remote objects. 
 Haller supposed the cause of dilatation to be owing to 
 the abatement of the powers resisting the aqueous 
 humour; and he gave, in proof of this opinion, the dila- 
 tation which ensues from great debility, fainting or death. 
 He thought the contraction might arise from a strong 
 influx of humours, into the colourless vessels of the Iris, 
 by which the said vessels are extended together with the 
 Iris, which is thereby elongated, so as to shut up the 
 greater part of the pupil. The size of the pupil conse- 
 quent upon this motion of the Iris appears generally to 
 be connected with the sensation of the retina, and when 
 the internal parts of the eye suffer any injury, we are in- 
 duced to form a judgment from its increased or diminished 
 action of the state of the optic nerve. The Iris was 
 formerly considered as a contintiation of the choroid coat, 
 until examined more accurately by Zinn, who has de- 
 
 which the derangement was produced, and the direct contrary may take place; 
 the able and thinking mind may become imbecile or idiotic. The sublime 
 poet may dwindle into the mere gabbler. And the most passionate, obtru- 
 sive, and salacious female may becoine mild, unassuming and modest. ^ o 
 various and unaccountable are the eiFects of nervous influence upon the hiurnin 
 body, that it would be highly arrogant in any man to contradict the assertions 
 of another upon a subject of this kind, unlsts he ci n produce fact? to ot-tablish 
 <,he position he may make "w hich Ci nuot be refuted. 
 
112 
 
 scribed it as being only connected with this coat by the 
 medium of the ciliary circle. It is probably the most 
 acutely sensible part of the human body ; being compos- 
 ed of muscular fibres, a profusion of blood vessels, and of 
 nerves. This opinion of the muscularity of the Iris, is 
 confirmed, particularly from analogy, with the Iris, of 
 some species of the Parrot, which possesses a voluntary 
 power of contracting and dilating the pupil, and from 
 muscular fibres having been observed in the Iris, of some 
 of the larger animals. Other anatomists deny the mus- 
 cularity of the Iris, and Wrisberg, in dissecting that of an 
 Ox, affirms, no muscular fibres could be seen, and he 
 thought sufficient proof had been advanced against its 
 muscularity, in the fact, of it not contracting when light 
 falls upon its surface. The abbe Mariotte, who opposed 
 Descartes, and other philosophers in the supposition 
 of the retina receiving the impression of light, and 
 conveying it to the sensorium, was the discoverer 
 of this curious fact, that when the rays of light fall 
 upon the centre of the optic nerve, they give no sensa- 
 tion. He also supposed the choroid coat to be the seat 
 of vision, in which opinion he was opposed by M. Pec- 
 quet. And M. de la Hire, has attempted to adjust the dis- 
 pute by supposing the choroides to receive the impres- 
 sion of images, in order to transmit them to the retina. 
 
 M. le Cat, supposed the choroides to be a production 
 of the inner coat of the pia mater ; and he supported this 
 opinion of Mariotte, from believing that the pia mater 
 itself and not the nerves, was the proper instrument of 
 sensation. He supposed the retina to answer a purpose 
 similar to the cuticle which covers the pyramidal papillae, 
 forming the immediate organ of feeling, or that of the 
 porous membrane, which covers the glandulous papillae of 
 the tongue ; and he only allows the retina to receive the 
 
113 
 
 impression of light, without being sensible of it, to mode- 
 rate it, and to prepare it for its proper organ. I am diverg- 
 ing in some measure from my subject, but 1 cannot help 
 observing upon this point that the opinions of Mr. Mi- 
 chell are strongly in favour of the choroides being the seat 
 of vision, and Dr. Priestley says his arguments had more 
 weight with him than he was at first either able to per- 
 ceive, or willing to acknowledge, in those of the French 
 philosophers, although he afterwards allows that several 
 considerations, which had occurred to him, were favou- 
 rable to the retina being the seat of vision ; and that M. 
 de la Hire's argument in favour of the retina, from the 
 analogy of the other senses, is much strengthened by 
 considering that the retina is a large nervous apparatus, 
 immediately exposed to the impression of light; whereas 
 the choroides receives but a slender supply of nerves 
 in common with the sclerotica, the conjunctiva, and the 
 eyelids ; and its nerves are much less exposed to the light 
 than the naked fibres of the optic nerve. 
 
 Dr. Monro adhered to the notion of the muscularity 
 of the Iris, and he attributed the circumstance alluded 
 to by Wrisberg, to the colour or paint upon the Iris, 
 which acts as a cuticle in preventing the light from irri- 
 tating it. This pigment, being washed off, the Iris 
 exhibits two sets of muscular fibres, concerning which 
 various opinions have been formed. The one set in 
 the shape of radii, the different colours of which give 
 the diversity of colour to the eye ; the other circular 
 surrounding the inner edge of the Iris, which Dr. Monro 
 considered as the sphincter muscle of the pupil. Haller 
 asserts these concentrical orbicular fibres of the pupil are 
 neither visible to the eyes, nor by the microscope, not 
 even in an ox, as far as he had been able to observe ; he 
 allows however there is one distinct ring of obscure 
 
 p 
 
114 
 
 fibres in the body or inner margin of the uveal circle. 
 Mr C. Bell's preparations shewed so g-reat a degree of 
 vascularity in the Iris, that he was ready to believe its 
 action to be produced by a vascular structure, but when 
 he observed the profusion of nerves in other instances, 
 obscured by injection, he could not but allow the muscu- 
 lar fibres might have been obscured as the nerves were. 
 He observes also, the retina is in a peculiar manner sus- 
 ceptible of the impression of light, but he cannot wonder 
 that light should not stimulate a muscle to contraction, 
 when we have every proof that it has no effect upon the 
 delicately expanded nerve of the other senses. He sup- 
 poses the Iris is only to be affected through the sensation 
 of the retina, or perhaps rather by the effect communi- 
 cated to the sensorium, and he gives in proof of this 
 opinion, that in couching he has repeatedly rubbed the 
 side of the needle against the Iris without exciting any 
 motion in it. He has seen it pricked slightly by the 
 needle, without shewing any sign of being irritated, and 
 what appeared to him a convincing proof, when cut it 
 fell before the knife in extracting the cataract : and in 
 this last instance, far from being stimulated to contrac- 
 tion, it hung relaxed. It is evident then, he says, that 
 no common stimulus applied to the Iris has any sensible 
 effect in exciting it to contraction ; and that it is subject 
 only in a secondary way to the degree of intensity of 
 light admitted to the retina. 
 
 The violence of pain occasioned by the inflammation 
 and other symptoms consequent upon prolapsus of the 
 Iris, is extreme in the early stage of the disease, and 
 marks great sensibility of the Iris. Is it not probable 
 therefore the more violent action of the knife or needle 
 upon parts so extremely delicate, may so destroy, as to 
 render them totally incapable of any contraction ? It 
 
115 
 
 is a proof of delicate sensibility from what Mr. Wardrop 
 ingeniously observes, that perhaps the motions of the 
 Iris have some analogy to those motions in plants which 
 are produced by the sun's rays. Its motions in the eye 
 where there is a complete cataract, or where the aperture 
 of the pupil is drawn aside from a part of the cornea 
 which has become opaque, till it gets opposite to a trans- 
 parent portion, makes this opinion probable. The Iris 
 too in many cases retains its power of contraction and 
 dilatation even where the retina is completely insensible, 
 so that it is likely that its motions do not altogether 
 depend upon impressions made on the retina. jVlr. War- 
 drop illustrates the former part of this opinion by the 
 relation of two cases, in the first an adult who had lost 
 the sight of one eye, and had a large speck formed on 
 the temporal and central part of the cornea of the other 
 eye soon after birth. The pupil was very considerably 
 dilated towards the nasal part, which remained transpa^ 
 rent, so that by this effort of nature, in drawing the 
 pupilar opening from the opaque to the transparent part 
 of the cornea, the patient was ^ble to guide himself 
 through the streets, and in twilight he could see large 
 objects around him with considerable accuracy. The 
 same thing also took place in a young woman's eyes, 
 under precisely similar circumstances.^^'' From its great 
 vascularity, there can be little doubt that muscular fibres 
 do exist in Ihe Iris.f 
 
 * Vide Wardrop on the human eye, vol. I. page 83 and 4. 
 
 t Haller, on the other hand, denies that the Iris possesses rnuscular fibres : he 
 refers the cause of the contraction and dilatation rather to the blood vessels than 
 to muscles. Sir Edward Home informs us, that he had seen in the possession of 
 Br. Baillie, an injection of the vessels of the memhrana tyrnpani, which appear- 
 ed nearly half as numerous as those of the Iris, from which he endeavours to^ 
 prove the existence of muscular fibres in the membrana tympani, as they 
 
116 
 
 In general the movement of the Iris is involuntary, 
 but terror, sudden fright, and the more violent passions of 
 the mind, affect it. It is dilated in the cat when roused to 
 attention by the scratching of a mouse, or when it strug- 
 gles to escape from any restriction it may be placed 
 under. It is proved in a variety of cases, that although 
 the retina is dead to the impression of the rays of light, 
 this contraction and dilatation frequently occur, some- 
 times in an equally rapid way, as when the organization 
 of the retina is perfect, and its sentient qualities in their 
 most active state. We cannot therefore depend upon the 
 activity of the Iris, as a certain proof of vision in all 
 cases, and more especially as our opinion on this point is 
 supported by certain facts which cannot be set aside by 
 a simple contradictory assertion, or a bare denial. 
 
 It is well known that amaurosis or gutta serena, pro- 
 ducing a partial or complete loss of sight, may be occa- 
 sioned by acute as well as chronic diseases ; it may be 
 produced by external injury, by cold, by excessive heat, 
 by exposure to the too vivid light of the sun, by light- 
 ning, by the stimulatiog effects of concentrated acids 
 applied to the nose, by the sudden suppression of the 
 catamenia, by apoplexy, by worms, by a deranged state 
 of the stomach and bowels, and by all those causes 
 which, acting directly or indirectly upon the brain, pro- 
 duce an obstruction of the nervous fluid, which, as is 
 generally supposed, for the purposes of vision, should 
 
 cannot be discovered by dissection. Upon a similar basis, we may therefore, 
 reasonably suppose, that not only muscular fibres, but that nerres, which were 
 equally obscure, might be also distributed to the Iris. Although Haller and 
 Other writers have denied that the Iris possesses an}-- great degree of sensibility, 
 yet it is not probable this denial will satisfy Physiologists in general, because the 
 Iris certainly possesses motions, not only the most delicate but sensible, whether 
 caused by the action of light, or excited by any other agent. 
 
117 
 
 pass through the optic nerve into its minutest expansion. 
 We are so little acquainted with the structure and func- 
 tions of the brain, that we are often surprised upon dis- 
 section, to find tumour, abscess, or some extraneous 
 substance, irritating only a part of the brain, distant 
 from the optic nerve, produce blindness. We are less 
 surprised when it is preceeded by symptoms indicat- 
 ing the accumulation of fluid in the ventricles, or 
 between the meninges of the brain, or by hydatids, by 
 extravasation of blood, or by tumours pressing upon 
 those nerves at their origin, or before they pass through 
 the sl^ull. If pressure be made upon the nerve, previous 
 to its division, blindness may take place in both eyes ; but 
 where it is only applied to the optic nerve of one side, 
 it will probably cause only blindness in that eye. Upon 
 examination of the optic nerve, after death, it does not 
 follow that any difference appears between the optic 
 nerve of the blind or of the sound eye. This also may 
 sometimes be the case, where both eyes are blind, for the 
 cause of blindness is not always ascertained by dissection. 
 Many instances however are mentioned by authors 
 where sufficient proof has been given after death of the 
 cause of blindness ; and some have occurred where the 
 optic nerves have been materially altered in their appea- 
 rance, and yet blindness has not taken place. It has 
 been observed by authors that the reciprocal sympathy 
 between the eyes is so active that no person anxious to 
 obtain either physiological or pathological knowledge, 
 should for a moment forget it. This knowledge is more 
 particularly useful in the examination of cataract ; and 
 it is of the highest importance to keep one eye entirely 
 secluded from the light, while the surgeon inspects the 
 state of the Iris of the other ; for the very impression 
 of the rays of light upon one eye, sensible to this stimulus 
 is known to be often sufficient to produce corresponding 
 
118 
 
 motions in the Iris of the other eye, although it is ascer- 
 tained that that eye is in a perfect state of amaurosis. 
 This circumstance has been explained by the decussation 
 of some fibres from the optic nerve, at their union ; but 
 there are instances mentioned when the optic nerves have 
 descended without any union during their whole course, 
 and the sight was perfect in man, in some other animals, 
 and more particularly in fishes.* 
 
 It is well know that contraction and dilatation exist in 
 those cases where cataract is so complete as to cause 
 total blindness, or at least to prevent the transmission of 
 light to the retina, but in their more advanced stage the 
 pupil is sometimes more dilated, and the Iris moves very 
 slowly and inertly, because the cataract or diseased 
 chrystaline lens touches the Iris, and impedes its action. 
 But Baron Wenzel informs us there are other examples 
 of cataract in which the pupil may be quite motionless, 
 and yet sight will be restored after the performance of 
 the operation, a proof the motions of the pupil are not 
 solely guided by the sensibility of the retina, but are 
 influenced by other causes. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Cooper, in his very valuable surgical die-? 
 tionary, makes a supposition of cataract existing, where 
 gutfa Serena was complete in both eyes, but in which 
 
 • Nervi optici in Raia pisce modo peculiar! a cerebri basi orti, et poster 
 trochle;i quadam communiti, separatiip ad oculos deferuntur — " "Vide Byigg's 
 Opthalmographia. Edit. Cantab. 1676, page 71- It was the opinion of Sir 
 Isaac Newton and others that objects appear single because the two optic 
 nerves unite before they reach the brain, but some anatomists have observed 
 that the optic nerves do not mix or confound their substance, being only 
 united by a close cohesion ; a.x^6, objects have appeared single, when the optic 
 nerves were found to be disjoined. 
 
 — in homine ver-') et quadrupedis arctissime (in piscibus tamen per simpliceaa 
 solununodo cont actum) uniuntur.— Vide Briggs ut supra. 
 
► 
 
 119 
 
 there were the freest contraction and dilatation of the 
 pupil, and of the consequences which might result, if a 
 surgeon, induced by the moveable state of the Iris, were 
 to undertake an operation, under such circumstances, for 
 the removal of the cataract, as it would be unavailing-, 
 from the rays of light having only been transmitted to an 
 insensible retina. Wenzel and Richter, both notice these 
 peculiarities, and the former refers the circumstance to 
 the Iris deriving its nerves wholly from the lenticular 
 ganglion, whilst the immediate organ of sight is consti- 
 tuted entirely by the optic nerve. 
 
 The best operators for cataract are also of opinion, 
 that the distinction of light from darkness, as to the prog- 
 nosis of the result of the operation, is of much more con- 
 sequence than the motion of the Iris. 
 
 In many cases of amaurosis, where the retina is entire- 
 ly destroyed, the pupil becomes immoveable, dilated, and 
 of its natural black colour ; sometimes it has a dull glossy, 
 muddy amber, or horny appearance ; at other times it 
 is greenish ; now and then whitish, and opaque, so as to 
 be liable to be mistaken for an incipient cataract. The 
 symptoms of amaurosis are however very irregular, some- 
 times in the most complete and incurable cases, the pupil 
 is of its natural size, and even capable of very free mo- 
 tions, and occasionally it is actually smaller, and more 
 contracted. Richter asserts, that in particular instances, 
 the Iris not only possesses a power of motion, but, is ca- 
 pable of moving with uncommon activity, so that in a 
 very moderate light it will contract in so unusual a de- 
 gree as nearly to close the pupil. Mr. Samuel Cooper, 
 mentions two or three remarkable instances of the 
 very active state of the Iris in cases of amaurosis which 
 were shown to him by Mr. Albert, surgeon of the York 
 
120 
 
 Hospital, Chelsea ; he had seen others also, in St. Bar- 
 tholomew's. Similar cases may be seen, occasionally, in 
 every hospital. I have observed them in our Infirmary, 
 and in the Blind Asylum. Mr. M'Donald, house surgeon 
 of the Edinburgh Hospital, mentioned to me, a similar 
 case in that Hospital. The patients above alluded to, 
 had, most of them not the least power of distinguishing 
 between total darkness, a candle placed before their eyes, 
 or the vivid rays of the sun. Similar facts have also been 
 related by Janin, Schmucker, and other writers. 
 
 Mr. Lucas, of Leeds, in his paper on cataract, has 
 mentioned the family of the Rev. Mr. Hall, of Leaven, 
 near Beverly, in Yorkshire, consisting of five children 
 who \vere all born blind ; none of them could distinguish 
 light from darkness, although the pupil was in common 
 neither too much dilated nor contracted, yet it had 
 motions which did not seem to depend upon the usual 
 causes, but were irregular. They were in different 
 degrees ideots, and one limb or other was in perpetual 
 motion in a manner resembling St. Vitus's dance ; from 
 which Mr. Lucas supposed there was some peculiarity ii? 
 the structure of the brain.* 
 
 Whether the opinion of the generality of philosophers 
 who make the retina the sole organ of vision 5 of those 
 who formerly supposed the ehrystaline lens the best 
 adapted for this purpose ; of the Abbd Marriotte and 
 others, who thought the choroid coat to have this influ- 
 ence, or of the few who might imagine the other parts 
 of the eye, and more particularly the choroid, the ciliary 
 processes and the Iris to be aiding in this important office, 
 be correct or not ; it is curious to observe how wounds 
 
 • Vide Medical Observations and Enquiries, vol. 6. 
 
121 
 
 of the ciliary processes produce blindness, if there b^ 
 not some peculiar connexion between them, and the 
 optic nerve during the operation of vision. Whether 
 this effect be produced by an immediate impression upon 
 the sensorium, communicated from the nerves distributed 
 to these parts, and acting immediately from the brain 
 upon the optic nerve, at its origin, may be doubtful ; but 
 it seems as reasonable to suppose this effect as to imagine 
 the blindness to have originated from the communica- 
 tion which may take place through the slender filaments, 
 which are distributed to the outer coat of the optic nerve 
 before they join another filament of the third pair, pre- 
 vious to forming the opthalmic or lenticular ganglion. 
 A wound of the frontal branch of the fifth pair of nerves 
 is very often followed by a variety of nervous symptoms 
 and frequently by complete blindness, with great dilata- 
 tion of the pupil. Mr. Wardrop has seen several cases 
 of wounds which punctured the sclerotic coat, followed 
 by a complete amaurosis, accompanied with a pupil very 
 much dilated. In such cases, he says, it is probable 
 that the ciliary processes were injured ; affording an 
 additional proof of the accuracy of Beer's observations 
 on the danger of such wounds in operations of the eye, 
 
 From the facts adduced above, it is certainly reason- 
 able to infer, that the motion of the Iris is not an infal- 
 lible symptom of the sensibility of the Retina ;=* and 
 
 • I have just seSn one of the sons of Mr. Squires, of Walton Lodge, near 
 Liverpool, who was struck upon his temple, by the contents of a pistol, com- 
 posed of chewed paper and sand, formed into small wads, which was fired 
 by another boy, on the fifth of November, 1817- He, at the moment, fell 
 down as dead, and from that period his right eye lost the power of vision. 
 The adjacent soft parts were torn to pieces, and portions of the temporal bone 
 came away for several months afterwards, so that little doubt exists that blind- 
 ness took place from the nerve having been lacerated. The pupil of the blind 
 eye contracts and dilates upon exposure to light, or from pressure of the 
 
123 
 
 that this appearance of contraction and dilatation of the 
 pupil, upon which certain individuals particularly found- 
 ed their opinion of Miss M'Avoy's possession of the sense 
 of vision, may, in this case, have led them into an errone- 
 ous conclusion. 
 
 Previonsto my attendance, MissM'Avoy had been for 
 along period seriously indisposed, and for nearly twelve 
 months had been affected with a severe pain in the head. 
 The firing- of the guns at the Fort, on the 4th of June, 
 1816, considerably aggravated this symptom, producing 
 a throbbing and beating sensation. She was affected 
 with giddiness, and staggered in walking across the 
 room; the vessels of the conjunctiva were filled with 
 red blood, but the action of light produced little un- 
 easiness. With the left, which at an early period had 
 suffered more from inflammation than the right eye, 
 she could scarcely distinguish any object ; and with the 
 right eye for several days, before I saw her, every object 
 at a distance, appeared white and those which were near 
 double. =*= 
 
 finger upon the eye-lid. Both the pupils were larger than natural, and upon 
 exposure to the light of a candle, it contracted in the sound, in rather a 
 greater degree, than in the blind eye. It is more perceptible in the blind 
 eye, when exposed to the light of the sun, than to that of the candle. In 
 presenting the point of the finger suddenly to the sound eye, the eye-lid moved 
 very quickly ; a similar movement, also, took place at the same time, from 
 sympathy in the blind eye, when the finger was presented ^vithin the visual 
 range of the left, or sound eye; but if this eye were co\'^red, or the finger 
 pointed at the right eye, out of this range, this sensibility of the eye-lid did not 
 occur. Mr. Davidson, of the Infirmary, was present at this examination — 
 June 2, 1820. 
 
 • Since the publication of the narrative Miss Johnson, a respectable school- 
 mistress, with whom, about the age of thirteen years, Miss M'Avoy was a 
 scholar, mentioned, upon visiting her during the period when she was able to 
 ilistinguish colours, that she recollected having punished Miss M'Avoy for 
 rtrading the same words twice m'cr, and she supposed afterwards, itmusthame 
 been owing to some defect in the eyes. 
 
1S3 
 
 On the 5th of Jane, 1 visited her for the first time, and 
 I was led to imagine from these symptoms, that oppres- 
 sion of the brain existed. In the afternoon of this day, 
 Mr. Thomas, the ordinary medical attendant of the fa- 
 mily, was sent for, in consequence of the leeches, which 
 had been just applied, producing syncope before they 
 bad had time to gorge themselves with blood. They 
 were immediately taken off, and on the 6th of June, he 
 observed her to be blind. On the following day I again 
 visited her, and found the pupils considerably dilated, in- 
 sensible to the action of light; her actions indicated 
 blindness, and she could not move without assistance, 
 from place to place. The pain of the head was very 
 acute ; the pulse feeble, irregular, and frequent. On the 
 9th of June she was seized with convulsions, and in the 
 course of that day, became paralytic on the right side. 
 On the i2th she appeared so much exhausted, that we 
 did not expect her to survive through the night. At 
 three o'clock p. m. of this day, she was observed to gasp 
 for breath, and. evidently to labour under a sense of suf- 
 focation from fluid passing down into the stomach. Her 
 weakness was so excessive, she could not exert herself to 
 eject from the mouth any part of this fluid until the 16th 
 instant, when about seven ounces were obtained ; a part 
 of which was afterwards submitted to Dr Bostock's ana- 
 lysis, who found it to be of that nature denominated Al- 
 buminous, in every respect resembling the fluid which is 
 eiFused in ascites, and in various species of dropsy. He 
 observed it dilFered from the fluid formed in hydrocepha- 
 lus by containing a larger quantity of animal matter, 
 but at the same time its solid contents were less than 
 those of the serum of the blood. Soon after this dis- 
 charge took place the convulsions ceased, but recurred 
 again on the 2d of July, and were again relieved by a 
 similar discharge, but in a much smaller quantity through 
 
124 
 
 the nostrils. I need not enumerate the different attacks 
 of convulsions and their termination^ as they are al- 
 ready stated in the narrative, or the continuation of her 
 case ; let it suffice to say, she has never, from her own 
 account, been entirely free from head-ache, more or less 
 severe, frequent pains across and in the sockets of the 
 eyes, and she has been afflicted with convulsions and 
 other various disease to the present time.^ 
 
 The pupils were insensible to light, did not contract 
 or dilate until nearly four months after she became blind; 
 and since that period the contraction and dilatation has 
 been very irregular. Sometimes the contraction has been 
 so g-reat as to diminish even the diameter of the pupil 
 to an unusual degree ; whilst, at other times it was 
 scarcely acted upon by light in any form, or by pressure 
 of the finger, which now and then occasioned contrac- 
 tion and dilatation, when the approach of a candle pro- 
 duced no effect;. 
 
 The pupil is often observed to remain dilated, when 
 (exposed to a bright light, and I have seen the right eye 
 in an obscure light, dilated as if belladonna had been 
 applied to a sound eye, when the left eye was only di- 
 lated, as it commonly is, to about one third part of the 
 extent of the Iris. 
 
 The substances which act most decisively in dilating 
 the pupil, as belladonna and hyoscyamus, do not pro- 
 duce their customary effect upon the pupils of Miss 
 M*Avoy's eyes. Indeed, I have sometimes applied the 
 
 • From what cause has it happened, that Mr. Sandars and the greater part 
 •f her opponents have scarcely noticed circumstances of so important a nature, 
 or at least have passed them over in a manner to induce the public at a distance 
 *o suppose they never had occurred ? 
 
125 
 
 one or other of these extracts without producing any 
 material change ; whilst at other times a greater dilata- 
 tion took place on the next day. Once on the following 
 day, after the application of the belladonna, the pupil 
 appeared elongated from above downwards, like the 
 pupil, in the day time, of one of the feline species. 
 
 In this case, blinking is not produced by the exposure 
 of the eye-balls to the vivid rays of the sun. The solar 
 spectra, thrown in their most brilliant colours, and with 
 their most rapid vibrations upon the eyes, were received 
 without winking, or shewing any sign she was aware of 
 them, except as some of the colours gave her a sensation 
 of more or less pleasure, but her eyes remained equally 
 firm and motionless. 
 
 Contraction, but generally in a slower degree than 
 usual, occurs often when a candle is brought near ip 
 the eye, but sometimes it produces no effect. 
 
 The cornea was generally insensible to the application 
 of any substance. Mr. Thomas, as mentioned in the 
 Narrative, placed his finger on the pupil, and Miss 
 ]Vl*Avoy did not appear to have felt it. Mr. Bedford 
 pressed a probe on the cornea, without exciting any 
 pain, unless when he touched the eyelids. A similar 
 experiment was tried by Dr. Jardine, and also by Mr. 
 Davidson, house-surgeon of the Infirmary, but in both 
 cases a little apprehensiveness was observed ; and a tear 
 or two passed over the eye-lid, when the latter gentle- 
 man made the experiment ; but this circumstance appear- 
 ed to me to arise from their having touched the eye-lids, 
 which were sore and tender, from the meibomian glands 
 being diseased and discharging matter. Miss M*Avoy pass- 
 ed her finger over the cornea, and Dr. Jardine rubbed 
 the probe across the cornea and pupil of each eye, but 
 
,126 
 
 not a tear escaped, nor was collected in the eye ; and 
 indeed the cornea was depressed before he observed he 
 had touched it. Mr. Davidson, at another time, having 
 no probe, made use of the upper end of a closed com- 
 mon lancet, but it was rather too coarse an instrument 
 to apply without touching the eye-lash or lid. I again 
 made use of the head of a large pin, which I laid on the 
 pupil, but the eye 'ball moved, and Miss M'Avoy said I 
 had touched the eye-lid, which I have no doubt was the 
 case, as I afterwards placed on the pupil, pressed upon 
 it, and rubbed across the cornea, a leaf cut for the pur- 
 pose, when I rested my hand, and the eye-lid was gently 
 held up without producing the slightest motion in the 
 eye-ball. Mr M'Donald, of the Edinburgh Hospital, 
 repeated this experiment with a similar result, and I 
 have several times since done it without exciting the 
 least apparent sensibility. 
 
 Philosophers of the earliest times employed as a most 
 effectual test, the sudden passing of the hand, or finger 
 across the eyes, and the efficacy of this test has been con- 
 firmed by Morgagni, by other Anatomists, and by the ac- 
 tual practice of Oculists of the present day. It has how- 
 ever been objected to, by the opponents of Miss M'Avoy, 
 as a sufficient test, because instances have occurred, 
 where by a strong effort of the will, and probably when 
 they were aware of the experiment to be made, blinking 
 did not take place upon the presentation of the finger or 
 hand. Under such circumstances, it might so happen, 
 but when it is applied unexpectedly, the experiment will 
 seldom fail. This has been tried in every possible way 
 upon Miss M'Avoy, and the result has been uniformly in 
 her favour. If any further confirmation upon this point 
 be necessary, I can state, that not a muscle, or fibre of a 
 muscle of her face was moved, nor a symptom of fear ex- 
 
127 
 
 pressed when I presented a pistol at her head. A similar 
 experiment, and with a similar result, was made by Mr. 
 Nairn, and Mr. Udney surgeons in Liverpool, and I be- 
 lieve, at this moment, neither Miss M'Avoy, nor any of 
 her family, is aware of such experiments having been 
 made.=* In the presence of Dr. Nimmo, of Glasgow, 
 Captain Owen, of the Navy, a pistol which I gave to Mr. 
 Gladstone, for the purpose, who was one of the party, I 
 believe was presented at her, by him, but not at the mo- 
 ment being present, those gentlemen will state the result, 
 and I have no doubt it will confirm that made by me, and 
 the other gentlemen.t The same pistol I presented at 
 Miss M*Avoy, I levelled at a gentleman upon a visit with 
 me, after mentioning I had tried a curious experiment 
 upon her that morning, but the result was very different; 
 he nearly fell from his chair. 
 
 A Noble Duke, deceased, I have been told, was in the 
 habit of trying the fortitude of his guests in this manner, 
 but he never found but one man (and that a Poet,) who 
 could stand the brunt of a presented pistol, without an ex- 
 pression of fear. 
 
 I hardly think that Pyrrho, mentioned by Diogenes 
 Laertes, whose constancy was so great that he suffered" 
 incisions and cauteries to be made upon his body, but 
 was never observed to wink his eyes, would have been 
 able to avoid blinking upon the sudden application of a 
 pointed or other instrument to his eyes, however firm 
 he might be ; because the motions of the Iris in man 
 
 • This circumstance had been mentioned to two ladies who visited her aboul 
 the middle of last month, and they by accident mentioned that this experi- 
 ment had been made. April 5th, 1820. 
 
 f I have since understood from Mr. Gladstone, that the result w;;s s'milai- 1 j 
 that which I had stated, and that 'be party had no doubt of her blindnes^j, 
 
^8 
 
 are involuntary, and do not depend upon mental intre- 
 pidity. In fine, all those experiments which have been 
 usually made to ascertain if blindness really existed, 
 have been tried in this instance, and have convinced me 
 of the fact. It appears also, that the proofs above relat- 
 ed are sufficient to satisfy the mind of any reasonable per- 
 son, that Miss M'Avoy's blindness commenced at the 
 period mentioned; and, from the causes still existing-, 
 which shew material derangement in the brain, and in 
 the nerves, we may safely conclude blindness still exists. 
 
 From the length of time in which the sensibility of the 
 retina has been destroyed, and from the frequent attacks 
 of violent disease, some alteration in the appearance of 
 the eyes, and constitutional character might have been 
 expected, but the change is less than one would have 
 imagined, although it is observable, for a little time> 
 after an attack of convulsion. 
 
 The moveable capability of the eyes is certainly im- 
 paired, and the muscles appear to have lost their volun- 
 tary action, as in endeavouring to raise her eyes to the 
 ceiling, she has not the power of doing it, nor of de- 
 pressing them to the ground. The eye-lids fall over 
 the eyes when she attempts to turn them downwards ; 
 but if a person attentively observe the pupil, by looking 
 under the eye-lids, the eyes will be seen in the same 
 position as they were before the attempt was made. 
 The motion of the eye-ball, inwards and outwards, is 
 not so free as is natural, but it takes place to a certain 
 extent. When convulsed, however, the eye-balls are 
 observed to be turned upwards, to move to and fro, 
 and even when the suspension of breathing comes on, 
 the eye-balls sometimes move, and cause a tremulous 
 agitation of the eye-lids, perceptible to an observer. 
 
129 
 
 Upon raising the eye-lid, I have felt a slight resistance, 
 whilst at other times the eye-lid was raised and fell as if 
 totally insensible. If Miss M'Avoy be not excited by 
 the conversation or the society of agreeable friends, the 
 eye-lids fall down and almost cover the eyes as if she 
 were about to sleep. On entering the parlour, during 
 the state of insensibility in which I have found her, I 
 have observed this more particularly, and she has often 
 not even raised them, although she had recovered from 
 several attacks of convulsion or suspension of breathiog, 
 until she found, by some one speaking to me, or when 
 I spoke to her, that I was in the room. During this 
 period of suspension of breathing, she is perfectly insen- 
 sible to every thing which parses, but the circulation in 
 the wrists continues nearly in the same manner, as when 
 she is free from it. The period of suspension in these last 
 attacks varied only from 15 to 45 seconds ; once it has been 
 mentioned in the Narrative, this suspension continued for 
 ninety seconds. 
 
 When she is desired to direct her eyes to the place 
 where any person sits, and which she knows from hear- 
 ing him speak, it would appear to an indififerent observer, 
 she looked apon it, but if the pupil be watched atten- 
 tively, it will be frequently seen not to be in the direct 
 line of vision. There is also generally an amaurotic 
 appearance in the eye, more particularly if she be kept 
 quiet, and not stimulated to any exertion. If her cap 
 be taken off, and the general contour of the face and head 
 be attentively examined, I have the most perfect con- 
 viction that experienced Physiologists, Anatomists and 
 Oculists will coincide with me in my opinion of her 
 blindness. 
 
 Mr. Gough, of Kendal, and other gentlemen, who 
 
 R 
 
ISO 
 
 have never seen Miss M'Avoy, have argued against the 
 possibility of her possessing the powers related in the 
 Narrative, but " facts are stubborn things," and the in- 
 fluence of opinions, founded upon mere theory, cannot 
 ultimately prevail against them, however they may be 
 obscured for a time from public view. Reason and 
 truth are often overwhelmed by prejudice, but " non 
 pudet physicum, id est, speculatorem, venatoremque 
 naturae ab animis consuetudine imbutis petere tes- 
 timonium veritatis ?'* From the earliest times theories 
 have existed, which have formed the basis of the philo- 
 sophy of that particular sera ; these have been exchang- 
 ed for others as soon as their futility was exposed, 
 and even those of the present day will pass away un- 
 less they have their foundation in experiment and 
 fact. 
 
 I shall pass over the observations of Mr. Gough, upon* 
 the ingenious mode in which he supposed it possible 
 imposition might be practised by Miss M'Avoy, with the 
 simple remark that he should have taken care to have 
 had a better foundation for his assertions, before he 
 implicated her friends, and her medical attendants as 
 auxiliaries in the deception. I have taken all the pains 
 in my power to investigate her own conduct and that of 
 her friends, during a period of more than three years, 
 and I am perfectly convinced no imposition either ex- 
 isted or was attempted. Her mother, Mrs. Hughes, is 
 a woman of a communicative disposition, not refined in 
 her habits, but industrious and civil, unless when roused 
 into warmth of expression and feeling by any conduct 
 which gave pain or uneasiness to her daughter. If 
 there be one woman less adapted than another to carry 
 on imposition in a case of this nature, I think Mrs. 
 Hughes would be the person I should point at. The 
 
131 
 
 step father is hasty in his temper, but possessed of that 
 sort of pride which would prevent him from lending his 
 aid to any attempt at imposition. He has had several 
 children by Mrs. Hughes, one of whom died lately, 
 from the efifects of psoas abscess ; one who is ricketty ; 
 another of a consumptive habit; and two who are in tole- 
 rably good health, but are of a strumous diathesis. They 
 are very young, and require the care of their mother, 
 and she appears to have afforded it to the utmost of 
 her power ; but the superior sufferings of her eldest 
 daughter may have influenced her to pay this daughter 
 an extraordinary degree of attention, which has some- 
 times subjected her to the displeasure of her husband. 
 From the observations I have made, it appears to me 
 Mr. Hughes felt irritated by the frequent visits of stran- 
 gers to his house, and many of those comforts, which 
 a quiet home afforded, were at those times denied to 
 him ; and to have put a stop to them, he would gladly 
 have discovered imposition if it really existed. After 
 the Wavertree meeting he took a great deal of trouble 
 both separately and in conjunction with his wife, to dis- 
 cover any trait indicative of deception in his step daugh- 
 ter, but these repeated trials only confirmed him in the 
 conviction of her integrity. This evidence from a step 
 father will probably be esteemed stronger by the world 
 in general, than if it had been given by her own father, 
 who might be supposed to have been influenced by his 
 paternal feelings, in not making so strict an enqtiiry. 
 In this case I have not been able to discover any object 
 Miss M'Avoy or her friends could have in practising 
 imposition upon her medical attendants, and upon the 
 public. Her opponents, indeed, have asserted, that 
 Miss M'Avoy or her mother, has received money in 
 considerable sums, and that this was a principal aim in 
 the admission of strangers to visit her; but if even this 
 
132 
 
 were the case, although it might throw suspicion upon 
 her motives, it yet could not do away with the strong 
 evidence of her blindness, or of her having possessed 
 peculiar powers. If my information, however, be cor- 
 rect, they can produce no witness in support of their 
 assertion'] Is it to be believed, they would not have 
 long ago declared the particular instances of money 
 having been given, if the assertion were founded in fact? 
 I have the authority of the parties to say, they never 
 have received money, and I challenge the traducers of 
 Miss M'Avoy's fame to the proof. This assertion has 
 most probably originated in the supposition, it might 
 be so ; by being bandied about from one to another, 
 it has at last assumed a positive form, and were it to 
 be retraced to its source, it would be found to have as 
 much truth in it as in the old story of the black crows. 
 The account I have given in the continuation of the 
 Narrative, of some pieces of silver which were left in 
 the hands of the Rev. Mr. Vincent Glover, by Lord 
 Lilford, for the avowed purpose of purchasing fruit 
 for Miss M'Avoy, and which were returned to his 
 Lordship, is the only exception ; but Miss M'Avoy's 
 refusal to receive the money, and her conduct upon 
 that occasion are perfectly satisfactory she had neither 
 taken money before, nor was it her intention to retain 
 it at this time. 
 
 The presents received by the parties at different times, 
 have been excessively magnified ; but I believe they 
 may be all comprised in half a pound of tea from Mr. 
 Egerton Smith, the editor of the Mercury ; a few bottles 
 of wine brought by Mrs. Pentland, for Mrs. Hughes's 
 own use, who was near her confinement ; some game 
 from Mr. Blundell, of Ince ; and a little fruit from one 
 or two other persons who visited her. 
 
in 
 
 The situation of life of the parties is that of mediocrity. 
 Their income is rather more than £200 per annum, a 
 sufficient competence for every rational purpose ; and it 
 will at least afiford the comforts to a family living in 
 their retired way, if it do not allow of the luxuries of 
 life. Independent of this income, Miss M*Avoy has 
 about £460. 
 
 The testimony of her friends, who had the most fre- 
 quent opportunities of studying* her temper, is highly 
 in her favour ; they speak of her mildness of manner; 
 the goodness of her disposition ; her strict adherence to 
 truth ; and her attention to her religious duties. 
 
 The Rev. Edward Glover, her former confessor, who 
 is a mild, a respectable, a conscientious, and a sensible 
 man, gives his sanction to her possession of all the qua- 
 lities above enumerated, and his evidence is a host in 
 itself. He has observed to me that the friendship she 
 always expressed for him, the confidence placed in him, 
 the gratitude she felt for his religious instruction, and 
 the sincerity with which, under her awful situation, she 
 conversed with him, when preparing her to appear be- 
 fore the God of truth, must place any sUi;picion of 
 fraud beyond the possible range of human delinquency. 
 
 She has nearly attained her twentieth year, has had 
 little communication with the world, previous to the 
 discovery of her peculiar powers, and possessed of a 
 character, which those friends, who know her best, have 
 given, and to which I can testify, by my own experi- 
 ence of the general tenor of her conduct since I have 
 known her, it is not likely she would attempt imposi-- 
 tion ; but if she had done so, I think it would have been 
 Mill more extraordinary if I and others, who have most 
 
1S4 
 
 attentively examined heir every action, had not found 
 it out. 
 
 I have made enquiry also into her intentions, if it may 
 please the Almighty to restore her to health, and 
 she informs me it has always been her wish to become 
 a Nun ; but her mother will not consent to this plan^ 
 until she arrive at the age of twenty-four years, when 
 felie will yield to her wishes, if her daughter still con- 
 trniae in the same mind. If she recover, and attain 
 •this age, she tells me it is her intention still to pursue 
 this plan. Some of her opponents have imagined a de- 
 sign connected with her religious faith, and that her 
 peculiar powers were only assumed for miraculous pur- 
 poses; and this intended designation of her life might 
 appear a confirmation of this opinion, but 1 am confi- 
 dent no such intention was ever contemplated by her- 
 self or her friends, and that the idea of becoming a 
 Nun originated in the innocent wish of a calm and 
 resigned mind for a quiet and retired life. 
 
 Let any one look at this poor girl, labouring under a 
 most tormenting disease, which has prevented her from 
 lying down for more than two years, in an horizontal po- 
 sition ; who, for the same period, has not known the com- 
 fort of a bed, or of undressing herself, but for the purpose 
 of cleanliness, afflicted with a severe and constant head* 
 ache, with a tumour in the side, so painful that the least 
 pressure distressed her for hours, with anasarcous swell- 
 ings in her legs, which frequently required scarifications, 
 to be made, to give her temporary relief, with occasional 
 oppression, and frequent catching in the breathing, a 
 convulsive motion of the diaphragm, and with the almost 
 constant dread of dissolution. Let her opponents say that 
 a female of her general character, and afiicted in so seri- • 
 
135 
 
 ousa manner, can deceive, and I will not hesitate to declare 
 those breasts callous to the common feelings of humanity, 
 which can hazard such a suspicion : to attempt argument 
 with men of this description, would be futile in the ex- 
 treme, and no one, whose motives are good, and ho* 
 nourable, will envy them their feelings. 
 
UPON 
 
 The PAMPHLET of Mr, Joseph Sandars, 
 
 Entitled 
 « HINTS TO CREDULITY;" 
 
 Upon the Letters and Observations of Mr. Egerton Smith, and other 
 Unbelievers in the Povyers possessed by Miss M'AvoY, and in the Fact 
 of her Blindness. 
 
 w. 
 
 HEN assertions are positively made, and seeming 
 proofs brought forward by persons of presumed respecta- 
 bility, it is difficult, however erroneous they may be, to 
 refute them. It is a duty I owe to Miss M* Avoy, to those 
 who have witnessed her powers, and to myself, not to al- 
 low them to pass current, without a full and fair exami- 
 nation. The boldness with which they have been ad- 
 vanced, and the pains which have been taken to promul- 
 gate them, have given them a position in public opinion, 
 which truth does not always attain, without these adven- 
 titious aids. I am well aware it is an arduous task, to 
 convince men, who are prejudiced before they enter into 
 the investigation of any doubtful fact ; nor will they al- 
 ways allow themselves to be wrong, when they have in- 
 vestigated it. In the progress of their examination, this 
 prejudice often biasses their judgment, so as to obscure 
 the truth. It is a weakness to which human nature is 
 too often liable; therefore, I do not wonder it should ex- 
 ist in this very peculiar case, and that doubts of the fact 
 should have arisen^ but I do not regret it, as it has given 
 
138 
 
 me an opportunity of re-considering the grounds upon 
 which I formed my opinion of Miss M'Avoy's blindness 
 It is certainly less detrimental to the interests of science, 
 that sceptical should prevail over credulous opinion ; but 
 it may be carried too far, when it endeavours to do away 
 with the evidence of the senses in cool and dispassionate 
 inquiry. If Miss M*Avoy be blind, which the preceding 
 inquiry attempts to prove, the possession of the powers 
 ascribed to her, must be allowed, and it will become a 
 subject of importance in the Philosophical world, as well 
 from its connexion with the theory of vision, as with the 
 physiology of the varied powers of touch. 
 
 I have been led into the above remarks by the very 
 great pains which have been taken to bear down every 
 proof favourable to Miss M^Avoy; and by the par- 
 tial manner in which some of her opponents have com- 
 mented on the facts in the Narrative. Mr. Sandars, and 
 Mr. Egerton Smith, have taken the lead, in endeavour- 
 ingto influence the public against Miss M'Avoy ; the first 
 in a pamphlet, entitled ** Hints to Credulity," and the lat- 
 ter, in detached pieces, some of them under his own sig- 
 nature, addressed to me, and not a few which are anony- 
 mous, but which are supposed to have emanated from the 
 same persevering source. Had the public not given a 
 sort of sanction to the reception of the positive assertions 
 of these gentlemen, involving the charge of imposition 
 on the part of Miss M'Avoy, I should not have thought 
 it necessary to have noticed either the pamphlet of Mr. 
 Sandars, or the letters of Mr. E. Smith ; as the former 
 seemed to have been compiled partly under the inlluence 
 of some petty feelings excited by Mr. Hughes, in a hasty 
 letter addressed to Mr. Sandars, and against me, for a re- 
 tort made to him, for a paragraph in bis letter to Mr. 
 Hughes, in which my name was implicated. 
 
139 
 
 Mr. Smith's letters and remarks, one would think, were 
 intended to do away with the impression made by his 
 letters on this subject, in which were introduced some 
 experiments convincing to every one but himself. As a 
 pamphlet has a more imposing appearance than a letter, 
 I shall give Mr. Sandars the precedence, and enter upon 
 the examination of his proofs of Miss M* Avoy seeing. As my 
 remarks upon his pamphlet commence with the first page, 
 and as I have no other wish in criticising his opinions, 
 than for the purpose of elucidating the truth, I hope my 
 readers will, at the time, refer occasionally to the pamph- 
 let itself; or, if it cannot be easily obtained, to the Exa- 
 miner of the Day, a London weekly paper, the Editor of 
 which, has detailed almost verbatim, the contents of Mr. 
 Sandars's pamphlet, as well as the letters of Mr Gough, 
 and some other writers upon this subject; and to the Liver- 
 pool Mercury, for the letters of Mr. Smith and others. In 
 the first page of his pamphlet, Mr. Sandars assigns the rea- 
 son for intruding himself upon the public, as depending 
 upon the publication of Mr. Hughes's letter, and his 
 answer to it He charges Mr. Hughes with having com- 
 mitted a breach of good manners, in giving it to me, for 
 publication, as the communication was strictly private ; 
 and he assumes to himself a right, which under certain 
 circumstances, migbt be his due, but which in this parti- 
 cular instance it would have been folly to have allowed 
 him, because Mr. Sandars had pursued a line of conduct 
 so totally deficient in respect to Mr. Hughes, that he had 
 clearly deprived himself of the privilege the common 
 usage of society would have otherwise afforded him. 
 
 The simple charge, as Mr. Sandars has elegantly ex- 
 pressed it, " that your daughter-in-law can see, and that 
 too, with her eyes ; aye, and as well, or better than I 
 can," would not have been of much importance, as it was 
 
140 
 
 very evident to the persons present at the only examina- 
 tion of which Mr. Sandars had an opportunity of judg- 
 ing", that he could not draw any just conclusion from 
 liis means of observation. Mr. Sandars, on the public 
 Exchange, in every company with which he associated, 
 and to every person who would listen to him, declared, 
 he had detected Miss M'Avoy as an impostor. Had Mr. 
 Hughes silently acquiesced in this charge of Mr. San- 
 dars, the public would have concluded it to be true ; but 
 being convinced, as he was, of her blindness, it was na- 
 tural he should rebut it : and, if he did so, with a degree 
 of asperity displeasing to Mr. Sandars, he might have ex- 
 cused it, from its similarity with the conduct Mr. San- 
 dars pursued during the examination he made into the 
 merits of this case, on the 24th of September, 1817. 
 
 Mr Sandars asserts, in the case of Miss M'Avoy, " that 
 blindness has been assumed, declared and believed, that 
 hundreds have flocked to see her ; and under the admi- 
 nistration of regular attendants, experiments have been 
 performed, in the most careless and unsatisfactory man- 
 ner : as the Narrative is very dear in price, and not dis- 
 tinguished for delicacy in its details, the circulation may 
 possibly not be very extensive, it will therefore be pro- 
 per to give to the uninformed some account of the Lady, 
 and of the extraordinary powers with which she is said 
 to be endowed." From this paragraph, the natural in- 
 ference to be drawn, is, that a regular system was adopt- 
 ed in the examinations; but Mr. Sandars, if he had made 
 any proper inquiry into the subject, must have known 
 this was not the case. The true statement is, that hun- 
 dreds of persons visited Miss M*Avoy, made their own 
 observations and experiments (often when no one con- 
 nected with her was present,) and gave their own re- 
 port of them. I was frequently applied to, to meet par- 
 
141 
 
 ticular parties, and my good nature ofteu prevailed over 
 my convenience, to consent to the application; but, 
 surely this consent should not be assigned as a reason for 
 drawing the conclusion Mr. Sandars has done. The 
 charge of carelessness in making the experiments must 
 apply to every one who did make them, and probably to 
 no one with greater force than to himself, as it is clear 
 from the information of Dr. Jardine and others, that Mr. 
 Sandars's experiments were hasty and inconclusive. 
 
 When I recapitulate the principal experiments which 
 were made by the Rev. Thomas Glover and myself, I 
 think 1 shall be able to convince the public of their truth; 
 and that no better plan could have been adopted to se- 
 cure the eyes from the impression of the rays of light, if 
 sight existed, and that in the mode of conducting the 
 experiments, the charge of carelessness was improper 
 and indecorous. 
 
 If Mr. Sandars meant to put a stop to all enquiry, he 
 could not have devised a better mode than the one he 
 has adopted, of charging me with indelicacy in the de- 
 tail of her case ; but I am not aware of meriting so foul 
 an attack, because I have related nothing, but what, in 
 the report of a very curious medical case, it vvas necessary 
 to mention for the satisfaction of medical readers. =5^ 
 
 • This charge certainly had nothing to do with the case itself, nor with the 
 proofs of Miss M'Avoy's blindness, or the contrary; and I think Mr. San- 
 dars, in his cooler moments, will rerceivethe impropriety of having made it, 
 as he is not a medical man, and could not therefore be supposed acquainted 
 with the mode of detailing medical cases. 
 
 I know a little more of Mr. Sandars now than at the time of publishing the 
 Narrative ; and that knowledge will not allow me to suppose he had the 
 least wish of injuring me personally; although he must be sensible no charge 
 could be brought against a professional man, of a more injurious tendency, 
 than that of irulelicacy ; nor would I willingly think Mr. Sandars had done it 
 
142 
 
 Had Mr. Sandars wished to enquire into the fact of 
 her blindness or the contrary, he should have marshalled 
 the proofs on each side with equal candour; but his 
 pamphlet is evidently written more with the intention of 
 influencing the public opinion than of elucidating the 
 truth. For several pages he employs himself in quoting, 
 partially, sentences, and he then comments upon them 
 in such a manner, as to throw ridicule upon that part 
 of the narrative, in which are contained circumstances 
 not easily to be explained, if Miss M*Avoy had the most 
 perfect vision. He has however, given her credit for 
 some knowledge of the specific gravities of bodies, and he 
 
 at the suggestion of any professional man, who might take this mode of assail- 
 ing me, when he would not have dared to do it more openly. Mr. S. might 
 probably be induced to make the charge by the wish to promote the dissemi- 
 nation of his hints, and to deteriorate the sale of the narrative ; for, if his pamph- 
 let v.ere only read, the evidence in favour of Miss M'Avoy would be soon 
 forgotten, and these supposed proofs would have been substituted for the facts 
 in the narrative ; and the public, not knowing the real truth, might be induced, 
 from this cause, to take a decided part with her opponents. Whether the one 
 or the other supix)sition be correct or not, can signify very little now, as the 
 charge has been made, and its effects upon the minds of the public may 
 have taken root. Whether true or false, its dissemination may have cast 
 odium upon me ; for it has been somewhere said that a lie of a fortnight's 
 standing is as good as truth, for the purpose of defaming the good name of 
 any individual. If the great body of mankind thought and judged for them- 
 selves, they would not so easily be induced to listen to the rej>orter of a tale 
 of detraction, or of ill-nature. Such conduct too often occurs, but as far as 
 concerns this charge, I am not conscious of having deserved it, for I have 
 related nothing but what was necessary to the elucidation of a very curious 
 case ; and this relation ought not therefore to have given offence to any well- 
 informed female, as it could not have been esteemed an infringement upon 
 true delicacy ; but where false delicacy and unjust prejudice are substituted, 
 it will be proper to eradicate them from a soil where it may be doubted if they 
 are ever the attendants upon real modesty and decorum. Montaigne has said, 
 " Nous ne sommes que ceremonie, la ceremonie nous emporte, et iaissons la 
 substance des choses ; nous nons tenons aux branches et abandonnons le tronc 
 .et le corps. Nous avons appris aux dames de rougir, oyants sculement nom- 
 mer ce qu'elles ne craignent aucunement a faire : nous n'osons appeller a droict 
 nos membres, et ne craignons pas de les employer a toute sorte de debauche ; la 
 
143 
 
 has insinuated that information mig^ht have been convey- 
 ed to her, how to distinguish the heavier and lighter 
 fluids. This insinuation is unworthy of Mr. Sandars. 
 The account he gives of the transaction of the 24th of 
 September, 1817, when he visited Miss M'Avoy, is so 
 very different from that given by Dr. Jardine, Mr. Tho- 
 mas, and others, who were present, that if 1 had really 
 impeached the veracity of Mr. Sandars's relation, 1 
 should have been borne out by the testimony of those gen- 
 tlemen. Dr. Jardine informed me, when Mr. Sandars 
 tied the goggles over his face, he could not see any thing 
 until he raised his chin upwards, and worked repeatedly 
 the muscles of his face, in a very distorted manner, which 
 at last enabled him to see, so as to name the time of the 
 day by holding a watch highly elevated, close to, and be- 
 
 ceremonie nous deftend d'exprimer par paroles les choses licites ct naturelles, 
 et nous I'en croyons : la raison nous deffend de n'en faire point d'illicites et 
 mauvaises, et personne ne Ten croit." 
 
 I should have passed over this remark of Mr. Sandai-s without notice, had 
 not some of my friends told me the insinuation had gone abroad ; it had been 
 disseminated from party to party ; and that some professional men, instead of 
 rebutting the charge, had joined in the censure with those undiscriminating 
 persons who do not consider that the habit of assenting to every thing they heai- 
 is dangerous and slippery. (" 1 11a consuetudo assentiendi periculosa esse videtur 
 et lubrica." ) They ought, indeed, to be cautious how they listen to tales 
 of detraction, lest they subject themselves to be classed with the people Madame 
 de Genlis has thus described, " Dans la societe les satires les plus sanglantes 
 sont faites communiment non par les gens malins mais par les sots et les etour- 
 dis." 
 
 I wish the facts of this curious case to be generally known and duly appreci- 
 ated, and I have probably subjected myself to the charge of jiedantry, by cover- 
 ing more carefully in a latin garb, those unavoidable sentences which have cal- 
 led forth this discussion, rather than prevent the most fastidious person from 
 reading the continuation of the case of Miss M'Avoy. I trust also, that 
 the candid, liberal and truly delicate female wiir'do me the justice to be- 
 lieve, that in detailing this case I merely followed the customary mode adopted 
 by medical writers, and ought not, therefore, to have been charged with offend- 
 ing against those rules of propriety, which should influence every man. 
 
144 
 
 tween the window and his face, with his head turned 
 backwards ! I do not wonder at the goggles not fitting 
 Mr. Sandars, so well as Miss MAvoy, because his nose 
 is particularly prominent, and they were adapted exact- 
 ly to Miss M'Avoy's, not to Mr. San dars's face. 
 
 Mr. Sandars acknowledges the goggles were once 
 fixed on, in so tight and oppressive a manner, that he 
 could not breathe through the nostrils : but he allowed he 
 was completely blindfolded ! Might it not therefore be 
 probable that they did blindfold the person to whose face 
 they were exactly fitted, without producing great uneasi- 
 ness.^ Certainly, the eyes of the great majority who tried 
 them were blindfolded by the same means. The asser- 
 tion he makes, that Miss M'Avoy's hands are decidedly 
 coarse, can only be believed by those who have not ex- 
 amined them. She has seldom been employed in any 
 work about the house, likely to harden them, and I have 
 observed them more particularly, when her fingers were 
 obliged to be covered, from their tenderness, after she 
 had been engaged in getting up her small linen. 
 
 Mr. Sandars lays great stress upon her assertion res- 
 pecting the breath, the effect of which I have already 
 explained ; and in observing the absurdity of the opinion, 
 he might have had the candour to have supposed it 
 originated from the nature of her feelings, which were 
 not understood by herself, her medical attendants, or 
 the intelligent men who visited her. He objects to the 
 use of common sticking plaister as a mode of blindfold- 
 ing any person, because, he says, it is of a harsh and 
 inflexible quality ; yet this sort of plaister is used to draw 
 the lips of a wound together, where it is wished to pre- 
 vent a mark from being visible, and it adhered so closely 
 in the different experiments, as to draw the skin after it, 
 
145 
 
 as it was removed from surrounding the eyes of Miss 
 M*Avoy. His objection to the use of Burgundy pitch 
 plaister, is conveyed in an insinuation against Mr. Tho- 
 mas, who applied it " at the kitchen fire," but he does 
 not add the words " they (alluding to these plaisters) ad- 
 hered as closely as possible," which concludes the sen- 
 tence ; nor the following : " the silk handkerchief was 
 firmly bound over them." The result of the experiments 
 made on this day, the 2d of July, in the presence of Mr. 
 M*Corquodale, was not mentioned, nor the additional 
 circumstance, that the skin was excoriated, by the appli- 
 plication of the Burgundy pitch plaister around the eyes; 
 a sufficient proof, one would imagine, of its perfect ad- 
 hesion to the skin. 
 
 Mr. Sandars gives another proof of the eagerness with 
 which he seeks any information, however incorrect, and 
 details it against Miss M'Avoy, when he asserts it was 
 common to use the same tests very often, and that they 
 were kept in the house. The factis, the parties who visited 
 her, frequently produced their own tests, a shawl of 
 variegated colours, a glove, a riband, a ring, a seal, or a 
 watch, were sufficient in the hands of any visitor, for the 
 test required. Those belonging to the house were very 
 rarely used by me : it also very seldom happened that 
 the coverings of gold beaters skin were used twice. I 
 generally brought fresh pieces, when requested to meet 
 any party, and the persons present were almost uniformly 
 satisfied the application was made properly, and adhered 
 as closely as any thing could adhere. Those made use 
 of, when Mr. Sandars was present, were old pieces I had 
 employed before, and which had lost their adhesive qua- 
 lity. He lays great stress upon her eyes being cast down- 
 wards. It is probable he observed the eye-lid only par- 
 tially covering the eye-ball, for if the eye-lid were closed 
 
 T 
 
146 
 
 properly, he certainly could not have seen the eye cast 
 downward; therefore the experiment was only commenc- 
 ing: but, if he had been less hasty, he might have seen that 
 the pupil did not follow the downward motion of the head, 
 but remained stationary, or nearly so, as when sitting up 
 erect. The reason of this gold beaters skin not closely ad- 
 hering, was owing to its having (from being used before) 
 lost its glutinous quality, which forms the principle of its 
 adhesion. The assertion of lier seeing is mere suppo- 
 sition.* 
 
 In page 2!^ of his pamphlet, Mr. S. doubts the efficiency 
 of the goggles, gold beater's skin, and silk ; but in a 
 note in page 31, he admits " that if the eye-lids be kept 
 firmly and honestly closed, while the skin is drying, 
 they cannot, by any effort of the muscles be opened 
 afterwards, but who will believe the stories about the 
 difficulty of opening the eyes when the goldbeater's skin 
 is taken off? this is a mere trick, experiment will prove 
 it most satisfactorily. It does not require any applica- 
 tion to the eyes, to convince a person he can see, when 
 a bye-stander thinks his eyes are shut; of course the 
 deception may be practised with greater or less facility 
 in proportion to the number and nature of the bandages." 
 The evidence of the persons who visited Miss M*Avoy 
 when these applications were employed, should have 
 been sufficient to convince any unprejudiced man, that 
 this mode of blindfolding was effectual. The eyes 
 were often examined with the greatest circumspection 
 when the first covering was applied, through which the 
 eye-lids appeared completely closed : they were exa- 
 mined again upon the application of the second layer. 
 
 • Can it be possible, that any serious experimentalist would declare, from 
 a singlte examination, upon such doubtful grounds, Miss M^Avoy could see ? 
 
147 
 
 They were allowed to dry, and whoever attentively ob- 
 served them during the whole, or any part of the exa- 
 mination, I am confident never saw the eye balls of Miss 
 M'Avoymove so as to derange the application. When 
 they were taken off, the skin all around the eyes was 
 drawn up with the gold beater's skin. The glutinous 
 matter of the goldbeater's skin, by insinuating itself be- 
 tween the eye-lids, causes them to adhere to each other, 
 and it is assuredly true it did occur whenever fresh pieces 
 were applied to Miss M*Avoy's eyes, so as frequently to 
 oblige me to make use of warm water to soften before 
 she could open them.^ Mr. S. now talks of deception, 
 but how has he proved it in Miss M'Avoy, her immediate 
 friends, or her supporters .^ it is mere assertion on his 
 part, founded on the meanest principle of the human 
 mind, suspicion, more degrading to the liberal and in- 
 dependaut man, than it may be useful to the selfish and 
 worldly minded. Indeed, the teaor of a great portion 
 of Mr. Sandars's pamphlet is to place every circumstance 
 in the most suspicious light, and hints are thrown out 
 which have a strong tendency to effect this purpose. Of 
 this nature is the following remark, *' It was then pro- 
 posed that a piece of silk should be added to the gold- 
 beaters skin, to which I did not object, till, on enquiry, 
 I found that the silk Miss M'Avoy used was in Dr. 
 Renwick's 2)os.session : I then refused to have any 
 other." What Mr. Sandar's meant to infer from this 
 
 * Each of the modes adopted have been tried upon other individuals, and 
 have for the most part effectually blindfolded them, and more particularly, if 
 their features were similar to those of Miss M'Avoy. If her opponents will not 
 believe a fact which is notorious, because it does not coincide with their own 
 opinion, it will be of little avail to reason with them ; but it must plainly ap- 
 pear to every unbiassed mind, that their obstinacy upon this point, has been 
 carried so far,as to reach the border of absurdity ; for what can be more absurd, 
 than to say a person cannot be blindfolded by the different means I have cm- 
 ployed ? ! ! ! 
 
148 
 
 paragraph, I cannot exactly point out, but it is proba- 
 bly that sort of insinuation which a man, who argues 
 from weak premises, but who is anxious to obtain his 
 point, will sometimes hazard, even at the expence of his 
 credit. I must imagine it had some reference to his 
 suspicion of imposition against Miss M*Avoy and her 
 friends, for he must be well aware no charge of this 
 kind could attach to me, and it would have been better 
 had he abstained from such remarks. 
 
 Mr. S. avails himself of any typographical or other 
 errors, which a few of the first copies of the Narrative 
 contained, and he sonietimes plays upon my words in a 
 very amusing manner, although he afterwards confesses 
 he understood my meaning by explaining it. " Vague- 
 ness of assertion, he says, and impatience of scrutiny 
 characterize the whole conduct of unbelievers." If 
 this were not the mere parade of self consequence, and 
 of a>sertion, it might be retorted with more truth, upon at 
 least one of the unbelievers, as I am obliged to call them, 
 for on the 24th of September, Mr. Sandars's scrutiny was 
 not received as a proof of his patience, and vagueness of 
 assertion, might with more propriety have been supposed 
 on his part. 
 
 Mr. S. should have taken the Rev. Thomas Glover's 
 word, when he says, " having completely blindfolded 
 her," at least if he did not do so, he should have hesitated 
 about covering one of his own eyes with the gold-beaters 
 skin, and the other voith his hand only, as an experi- 
 mental test. 
 
 Dr. Jardine, allows he said the test was imperfect, 
 if the eyes were covered with only one piece of gold bea- 
 ters skin and silk or crape ; but when the goldbeaters 
 
149 
 
 skin and velvet were applied over the first covering, 
 he could have no doubt that the eyes of Miss M*Avoy 
 were blindfolded. If applied properly, and a little time 
 allowed for them to dry upon the closed eye-lids, as I 
 have said before, either one or two fresh pieces of gold* 
 beaters skin, will be equally sufficient. 
 
 In page 31, Mr. Sandars takes an opportunity of say- 
 ing that " from the omission of particulars so important 
 when he was present, it was natural to conclude that 
 there might be others of considerable consequence ; and 
 having heard a detail of the experiments at Wavertree, 
 somewhat different from that given by Dr. Renwick, I 
 applied to Dr. Trail, who had been present." Mr. San- 
 dars, in this, as well as in many other instances, appears 
 to wish to impeach my evidence, but such an attempt will 
 not avail him with the public. In the Narrative, page 
 23, I have observed, " Dr. Jardine took notes of the ex- 
 periments upon this occai<ion, and I shall recapitulate 
 from his memoranda.'^ Mr. Sandars, should not, there- 
 fore, have pointed me out as having detailed experiments 
 differently from what other gentlemen had related, but 
 have alluded to Dr. Jardine, who was appointed to take 
 the minutes, and who has, I have not the least doubt, ta- 
 ken them correctly. =* 
 
 Dr. Jardine states, " it was remarked that at a little 
 distance there was the appearance of very imperfect 
 vision. The pupils contracted upon exposure to can- 
 dle light, but more slowly than is usual." Will Mr. 
 Sandars give less credit to Dr. Jardine, who took his 
 notes upon the spot, than to Dr. Trail, who expressed 
 
 • These minutes were taken in the presence of Dr. Trail, and under his 
 inspection 
 
150 
 
 himself to Mr. Sandars, that he did not think they, al- 
 luding to the pupils, were examined with a candle. 
 Dr. Trail must be well aware that the note in the twen- 
 ty-third page of the Narrative, respecting the contraction 
 and dilatation of the pupils, was inserted in consequence 
 of his observ-ations at the Infirmary gates, when the Nar- 
 rative was in the press. Dr. Formby and Mr. Latham's 
 names were not mentioned, nor did I know they had 
 given any opinion upon this point until Mr Sandars's 
 pamphlet was published. I am certain fi candle was 
 used for the purpose of examining Miss M'Avoy's eyes, 
 during our visit at Wavertree. This discussion is how- 
 ever of no material importance, except as it shews how 
 strongly some of my brethren leaned to the opinion, that 
 because the pupil contracted and dilated, the eye must 
 see. Practical men do not trust to this circumstance 
 alone, as a criterion of vision, and if they have imbibed 
 it as one of the dogmata of the schools, they are obliged 
 often, in actual practice, to have recourse to other data 
 for an explanation. 
 
 Mr. S. observed at the Wavertree meeting that Dr. 
 Trail's minute inspection of the pieces of coloured cy- 
 lindriccd glass^ occasioned him great surprise, as he 
 found that each rod was composed of a different num- 
 her of reeds connected together^ and he supposed an 
 ordinary person, by a very little experience, would 
 have been enabled to distinguish them readily, by the 
 sense of touch. ^ Mr. S. declared the young lady must 
 
 • Miss M'Avoy's memory is generally very good, but Dr. Trail probably 
 gives her more credit in this instance, than she is entitled to : as the glasses 
 were very numerous, it is not very likely she could rentiember the one from the 
 other ; and indeed the very pieces she named one day, were often broken again 
 before they were given to her on another, for the purpose of experiment. The in- 
 
151 
 
 have been aware of the assistance she derived from this 
 circumstance ; and I cannot believe (he says) that, had 
 she really possessed the extraordinary powers which are 
 attributed to her, she would have condescended to bor- 
 row the assistance of such an aid, the detection of 
 which must necessarily excite suspicion of her ingenu- 
 ousness, and deprive her testimony of that weight other- 
 wise due to her youth and apparent simplicity.''^ Is 
 not Mr. Sandars begging the question when he reasons 
 in this manner? 
 
 The account of the second visit he paid Miss- 
 M*Avoy, which Dr. Trail has given to Mr. S. is partly 
 correct and partly incorrect, My statement of the 
 result of this meeting will be allowed by Dr. Brand- 
 reth and Mr. Bickersteth, who were present, to have 
 been impartially made. I d^ not agree with Dr. 
 Trail, from the manner in which the sticking plaister 
 was applied, that a single ray of light could have pass- 
 ed to the eye, and I am convinced the repeated applica- 
 tion of the strips of sticking plaister, and of the pencil 
 to keep them down, were of no other use but to produce 
 that degree of agitation which more or less deprived her 
 of the power. Mr. Sandars asserts, in the name of Dr. 
 Trail, that he did not remark any particular agitation! 
 When an individual is prejudiced too much in favour of 
 any particular opinion, it too often takes from him the 
 power of judging correctly; and in this instance I think 
 Dr. Trail must have been thus effected, because Miss 
 M'Avoy's agitation was very evident to me and to the 
 gentlemen above named ; indeed there could not be a 
 more striking proof given of it than the drops of perspi- 
 
 sinuation Dr. Trail here throws out, respecting these pieces of glass, and which 
 I have marked in italics, would imply something very peculiar in their 
 formation : } et, from the m.anner in which Dr. Trail has pointed them out, it is 
 €lear he must know the mode in wliich they were usually made. 
 
152 
 
 ration which stood upon her upper lip, and the clammy 
 feeling of her skin.'^ The remark of Mr. Sandars upon 
 my imprudence in introducing Dr. Trail, is one of su- 
 perogation, because Miss M'Avoy had been informed 
 the day before, of my intention of introducing Dr. Trail, 
 and if this had not been the case Miss M'Avoy would 
 soon have recollected him by his voice The hour of 
 appointment on the 2d of July, was half- past one o'clock, 
 and I did not leave Mr. Hughes's house until half-past 
 two, when Dr. Trail had not arrived. Mr. M'Corquo- 
 dale and Mr. Thomas, were present, and she went 
 through the different trials perfectly to our satisfaction. 
 
 In the continuation of the Narrative there is a detailed 
 account of the experiments made on the 13th of Octo- 
 ber, which will render it unnecessary to recapitulate 
 them here. How far the friends of Mr. Sandars may 
 be influenced by his assertion that I have not given " a 
 plain unvarnished statement of facts" I know not ; but 1 
 think those whose opinion, upon a point of this nature, 
 is worthy of consideration, the impartial and unbiassed 
 will not agree with him ; nor will they consider his 
 assertion of much weight, when he says the " Narrative 
 has not been dwelt upon with any inviduous feeling, but 
 solely with a view to the examination of the evidence on 
 which hangs almost entirely the fame of Miss M'Avoy :" 
 for if this were really the case, would it not have been 
 the duty of Mr. Sandars to have given a fair, not a 
 garbled statement of the facts in the Narrative. It was 
 
 * Dr. Gall has made the following observation in his preface to the Anatomy 
 and Physiology of the nervous system, which in a certain degree will apply 
 here : " Mais il arrive trop souvent que plus on devient savant, plus on s'ecarte 
 de la simple verit?. C'est ce que j'eprouvai. Ma conviction encore trop foi- 
 ble s'ebranloit a mesure que j'acquerois des connoisances, ou plutot, quej'ent 
 a&jois des prejuges. 
 
153 
 
 the investigation of the truth upon the whole case, 
 not upon detached parts, which was required. If Mr. 
 Sandars had been guided by a more liberal spirit in his 
 criticism, he would hare received my approbation of 
 his intentions, and I should have supposed he was 
 making, as well as myself, an inquiry after the truth, 
 although the grounds upon which we sought it, might 
 not have been similar. Mr. Sandars asserts that a 
 majority of the profession ridicule the whole story; 
 but if this were the case, is it any proof that Miss 
 M'Avoy has not possessed the power I have stated ? Is 
 it not merely assertion in them to say she can see, when 
 they have either not visited her, or have made the slight- 
 est examination into the nature of her case? Every 
 opportunity has been afforded, that they might convince 
 themselves of the fact of her blindness or the contrary. 
 Ought then the spirit of inquiry to be stifled, because a 
 few individuals have made a hasty examination into her 
 case, when labouring under extreme prejudice against 
 her, and the powers she possessed ? Ought not the very 
 circumstance of a single failure or two on her part, to 
 have stimulated them to further inquiry.^ more particu- 
 larly when her peculiar powers had been attested by 
 numerous individuals of the highest respectability. — 
 Would they have been content in any other case, with 
 the momentary examination of Mr. Sandars, as a proof 
 of the person possessing the power of vision. Indeed, 
 what stronger proof Could be given of their extreme 
 prejudice against Miss M'Avoy, than the sanction 
 given to Mr. Sandars's pamphlet! They have railed 
 at the true believers, as they call them, for believing 
 what they have seen, and they have charged with im- 
 posture a female whose good nature and inoffensive 
 manners have been peculiarly consplcuQus through 
 
 u 
 
154 
 
 all the different examinations. Why have they done 
 thisn 
 
 Mr. Sandars asserts " that the whole is a gross delu- 
 sion," and he founds this assertion upon his own hasty 
 examination of Miss M'Avoy; yet, there are many in- 
 dividuals of equal consideration with Mr. Sandars, in 
 and out of the profession, who have examined her with 
 the strictest scrutiny, and have not observed anything 
 like deception in her conduct.t Much stress is laid 
 
 • If it were not for the manner in which this business has been taken up, 
 I could not have believed that persons of a liberal profession, instead of exa- 
 mining minutely into a subject of this nature, would have taken the " on 
 
 dit," of any individual ; when they had the opportunity, by visiting Miss 
 M'Avoy, of making their own observations and experiments. Yet this has 
 been the case, and although several of these gentlemen have not seen her, they 
 have joined, it is said, in the censure passed upon me for credulity, at every 
 
 tea-table where the subject was discussed. They have even gone further, and 
 have expressed their pity that I should have committed myself, which might 
 have the effect of injuring my professional business and reputation. These 
 expressions have, I am told, been so often repeated, that, if they have not al- 
 ready they may ultimately injure me, for " gutta cavat saxum non vi, 
 
 sed saepe cadendo." 
 
 I might indeed have avoided this censHre by not having given to the public 
 the information I obtained by an accidental professional attendance upon this 
 curious case ; but if I had omitted to do so, I should have felt I had been guilty 
 of a crime of no small magnitude ; for no circumstance can be more injurious to 
 the interest of science, than the withholding of facts of an extraordinary nature, 
 merely from the fear of being pointed at, as a credulous man. Personal fear 
 of the consequences to my professional reputation, has never yet prevented me 
 from stating what I believed to be true ; and I must own [ would rather suffer 
 ' the censure of illiberal men, than be indebted to them for prai»e, for" Quae 
 est ilia laus, quae possit e macello peti." 
 
 t The opinionof the greater number of persons, who visited Miss M'Avoy since 
 the publication of the Narrative, has not coincided with that of- Mr. Sandars, 
 although sometimes they had been so far influenced by the reports against her, 
 as to hesitate whether they should visit her or not : the very appearance of Miss 
 M'Avoy testified more, in her favour in five minutes examination, than all the 
 reports had influenced them to her disadvantage. Medical men who had 
 seen her, generally speaking, believed in her blindness, and some of them, who 
 had had opportunities of seeing many afflicted with blindness, were astonished 
 any practical medical man could doubt it. 
 
155 
 
 upon the word " agitation," and Mr. Sandars expresses 
 a doubt, if it ever took place, but if it did, be would ra- 
 ther derive it from " the dread of detection," than from 
 any other cause. If I were to judge of Mr. Sandars's 
 motives, as he judges of those of Miss M*Avoy, it would 
 be easy to retort upon him. 
 
 Mr. Sandars asks the following question : " Ts it un- 
 charitable to say, in this case, she was completely blind- 
 folded, that in the other she was not ?" The best answer 
 to this question will be the asking another. How comes 
 it to pass, that in tho.«e instances where she was supposed 
 to see the object, she was not able to name it ? Her op- 
 ponents have, indeed, a decisive mode of answering such 
 a question ! They say immediately, this is cunning on 
 her part! An easy mode of getting over this difficulty, 
 but not one that is convincing to those who have mi- 
 nutely examined her pretensions. The remainder of 
 page 40, respecting her breath, has been explained in a 
 former paragraph, and the circumstance of her telling 
 the hour through the glass of the watch, by simply 
 passing her finger over it, was assuredly a fact: one 
 of those unvarnished facts, which as Mr. Sandars ob- 
 serves, has been found to derange the most elaborate 
 theory. 
 
 However absurd Mr. Sandars may esteem it, the fact 
 was not less true, that Miss M'Avoy did state the posi- 
 tion of four men, one after the other, with her hand up- 
 on the window, and her back towards it. My situation 
 was a little in advance, but rather on one side, with my 
 eyes fixed upon her eyes, watching their every motion. 
 The Rev. Thomas Glover first stated a similar fact, and 
 I must own 1 was fully as sceptical, as Mr. Sandars, un- 
 
166 
 
 Ijl I was either bound to believe it, or to doubt the evi^ 
 dence of my senses. 
 
 Mr. S. endeavours to shew that she has proved too 
 much, and asks " What is the nature of this agency ? If it 
 be the sense of touch, she would be able to read in the 
 dark as well as in the light?" " admitting that her finger 
 really can see, light is declared to be necessary; but 
 what is the process of her reading? Her fingers come 
 in olose contact with the words, she feels them, and most 
 effectually obstructs the light. If instead of touching the 
 words, she held her fingers at a sufficient distance to ad- 
 mit the light, then the theory would be supported by one 
 of the laws of vision." The light is not obstructed by pass- 
 ing the fingers over the letters; they move from letter to 
 letter ; light falls upon them ; and might not therefore the 
 form of the letter or word be impinged upon the points 
 of the fingers, as it would be impinged upon the retina, in 
 case the eye were concerned ? It has been proved by se- 
 veral, but by no one more pointedly than Mr. Egerton 
 ^mith, that she has read and named colours in a light 
 where he, and probably no other person could read. I 
 have not known her read or name colours, where light 
 was completely obstructed, but there are many proofs 
 of her naming colours, reading, &c. in situations where 
 sight could have no influence. Mr. S. says, " if she 
 does not distinguish colours by vision, she must by the 
 sense of touch ; but what evidence has been afforded that 
 she possesses any superior acuteness in this perception?'^ 
 Is this the case that no proof has been given of the ex- 
 quisite delicacy of her touch? How does Mr. Sandars 
 account for her distinction of glass from the harder stones, 
 or these from composition? It must be feeling, or some- 
 thing analogous to it, or might it be owing, as the Rev- 
 ICdward Stanley has ingeniously sapposed^ to the in- 
 
157 
 
 flaence of caloric, which all bodies contain in a greater 
 or less degree ?^ 
 
 Mr. S. allows that superior acuteness in the other senses 
 may occur, in individuals deprived of sight, but " the in- 
 ference (he says,) is loose and unfounded. Their in- 
 creased sensibility of touch was the growth of years, and 
 the result of habit ; their fingers had been put to school, 
 and by the assistance of the mind, became learned ; 
 yet, they were deadly ignorant in comparison of Miss 
 M*Avoy's." In the in^itances mentioned, in the preface 
 to the Narrative; and noticed by Mr. Sandars in page 43 
 of his pamphlet, it does not appear that their increased 
 sensibility of touch was merely the growth of years, and 
 the result of habit. In the case of the lady attended by 
 Sir Hans Sloane, who was deprived, by the ravages of the 
 small pox, af her sight, hearing, and speech, the senses of 
 touch and smell, became so exquisite, that she could dis- 
 tinguish the different colours of silks and flowers, and 
 knew when any stranger was in the room. This lady 
 was affected with convulsions, during, and after the small 
 pox, for nearly three quarters of a year ; but this peculiar 
 sensibility did not result, apparently, from any progres- 
 sive attainment. This lady felt severely any suspicion 
 of insincerity and deceit, and when she made the disco- 
 very of any experiment, to ascertain it, which she some- 
 
 ♦ I did wish to publish the letter of Mr. Stanley, addressed to me upon this 
 subject, as it would not only have shewn the opinion of a sensible man, who has 
 not seen Miss M'Avoy, but would have gratified the public with the ingenuity 
 of his ideas. It affords, however, another instance of the effects the positive as- 
 sertions of her opponents have even made upon this gentleman's mind., who does 
 not wish his letter to be printed under the existing circumstances of the case. I 
 must own I regret not having obtained his permission to have inserted a copy 
 of it; but to the public it will be of less consequence, as nearly a transcript of it 
 has been published in Tullock's Philosophical Magaaine, some time afte^ th^ 
 Kjirrative c&m^ out. 
 
158 
 
 times did accidentally ; it always threw her into violent 
 convulsions ^ In the instance of Cardinal Albani, in- 
 deed, the sense of touch was brought to a most exquisite 
 state of refinement, whether progressively or not, can 
 hardly be ascertained : but his knowledge of the verity 
 and peculiarities of medals, could only be attained by long 
 practice, assisted by the combining powers of a mind ear- 
 nestly applied to this peculiar study. Except the lady 
 and Miss M'Avoy above mentioned, none of the persons 
 alluded to, have been afflicted with disease which acted 
 materially on the nervous system ; yet, in this case, very 
 peculiar effects were produced, and probably by cer- 
 tain impressions made upon the brain. 
 
 It is not necessary for me to make any observations 
 npon Mr. Sandars's quotation from Voltaire, respecting 
 prodigies, predictions, and miraculous cures. Voltaire 
 was sceptical upon most subjects, and he would have 
 been so upon this, if he had only read, or heard of the 
 case ; but if he had seen it, as I, and others have done, 
 with no motive but for the simple elucidation of the 
 truth, he would not have doubted the evidence of his 
 own senses, however he might cavil at that of other 
 persons. Voltaire, however, was fully sensible that a great 
 part of our knowledge is founded upon the authority of 
 others, and that the philosopher would have little to boast 
 of in this respect, if his information were derived only 
 from his own researches. 
 
 In pa8;es 68 and 59, are mentioned some circumstances 
 respecting a gentleman of Wavertree, and an account of 
 
 * If this fact be allowed, we cannot wonder that Miss M'Avoy should be so 
 agitated by suspicions expressed, or by assertions of imposition positively made, 
 sometimes in her hearing, ibut often repeated) so as totally to incapacitate her 
 from givmg proofs of that sensibility of touch, which had been at other time? 
 so conspicuous; 
 
169 
 
 his experiments. Mr. Sandars regrets he was not per- 
 mitted to state names publicly, but no person could 
 doubt to whom his reference alluded, as Mr. Latham's 
 name is mentioned early in the hints, and he is the wri- 
 ter of the first letter in the appendix to the Narrative. 
 Delicacy indeed, towards Mr. Latham, prevented me 
 from publishing in the Narrative Mr. Hughes's account 
 of his conduct and mode of reasoning on the subject. 
 I shall merely state, Mr. Latham never mentioned any 
 suspicious circumstances respecting Miss M'Avoy, until 
 after the Wavertree meeting, when the opinion of the 
 medical men at that meeting was not in her favour, be- 
 cause she failed in many attempts to distinguish colours, 
 &c. as before ; but when we consider she had been en- 
 gaged from nine o'clock until noon, in describing co- 
 lours, reading, &c. to different friends of Mr. Latham, 
 one ought not to be surprised she should fail in a great 
 degree, when the medical gentlemen visited her. In his 
 letter in the appendix he says he found her out in going 
 to Wavertree, in company with several ladies; yet she 
 received visitors under his sanction, and he allowed the 
 medical gentlemen to remain there, at least two hours, 
 without making one observation, respecting his suspicion 
 of imposition; a proof, I think at this time, he did not be- 
 lieve in its existence; so strong, indeed, was his convic- 
 tion, at one time, of Miss M'Avoy's powers, that he was 
 extremely anxious she should take money for the exhibi- 
 tion of her talents, or if this proposal were not agreeable 
 to the family, that she should exhibit for the benefit of the 
 Blind Asylum, at stated times, if her health would allow 
 of it. I have reason to think also many of the friends 
 who patronise Mr. Latham, would bear me out, if I as- 
 serted, he not only believed in her powers, previous to 
 the visit at Wavertree, but during the very -lay of our 
 Visit, when the Rev. Mr, Lawton, his lady Mrs. Cart- 
 
160 
 
 Wright, the Rev. Mr. Fisher, and the Rev. E. Glover, 
 were present. 1 might also add, it is more than probable 
 he had not altered his sentiments on the Tuesday after 
 ofur visit, when Mr. Walker, at that time residing in the 
 village, a man of superior intellectual acquirements, strict- 
 ly examined her, and was astonished at the powers she ex- 
 hibited. 
 
 Mr. Latham must be well aware she told different co- 
 loured powders, and a reddish tincture, behind her, in the 
 presence of the Rev. E. Glover. If I am correctly in- 
 formed, Mr. Latham knelt down, and put her hands 
 through the back of the chair, on which she sat. He 
 then placed different colours, as lilac, bright pink, and 
 blue, into them ; and did not Mr. Latham lay a wager 
 with Mr. Glover, she could not do this ? And did not 
 Mr. Glover desire him to pay the wager which he had 
 lost? Did not Mr. Latham call upon Mr. Hughes on the 
 Sunday following the Monday, when the medical gentle- 
 men met at Wavertree ? Did he not give the following 
 opinion, or words tantamount to it? — "She cannot read 
 in the dark, not in a dungeon under ground, but she read 
 to me twice, with so small a degree of light that I should 
 call it utter darkness." Mr. Hughes says, he compared 
 the eyes of Miss M*Avoy to those of a horse, a cat, or a 
 dog, which he stated could see, when it was so dark that 
 the human species could not see the hand, when put up 
 to the face. Is Mr. Latham's recollection so bad that he 
 has forgotten every thing, in favour of Miss M*Avoy ; 
 oris it wilful forgetfulness? He certainly found great 
 difficulty in recollecting any of these circumstances, when 
 I applied to him for a statement of what he knew ; al- 
 though my application was considerably earlier than that 
 of Mr. Sandars. The account given by Mr. Sandars, and 
 detailed by him in pages 59, 60, & 61, of the Hints to 
 
161 
 
 Credulity, has surprised me, as it is so difiPerent from that 
 of Miss M'Avoy, Mr. Glover, Mr. Fisher, and even of Mr» 
 Latham, during the period of her visit to Wavertree. Mr. 
 Latham, in order to give still greater preponderance to 
 these assertions, closes his evidence upon this affair, with 
 a moral lecture, in his very best stile, if not dictated 
 by Mr. Sandars, urging the critical tenure of her life, and 
 entreating her to give up her pretensions, because he, 
 Mr. Latham, was convinced she could see ; and he was 
 confident she evinced no agitation whatever, but was to- 
 tally insensible to the charge. I am not surprised at this 
 event, because I can depend upon the simple declaration 
 of Miss M*Avoy, that she never heard it : and, if we 
 consider how improbable it is that Mr. Latham could 
 descend to give a rude lecture to a helpless female, im- 
 mediately under his protection, and almost a stranger to 
 him, without a friend to take her part, I really think it 
 is more probable. Miss M'Avoy is correct, than that Mr. 
 Latham has committed so great a solecism in urbanity and 
 politeness. 
 
 Mr. Sandars makes an unjustifiable attack upon Miss 
 M*Avoy, in stating Mr. Latham's kindness met with a 
 most unpardonable return ; when it is well known Miss 
 M'Avoy visited him, not from any wish of her own, but 
 at the repeated request of Mr. Latham she was induced 
 to comply with it. The obligation was to Mr. Latham, who 
 wished, not to Miss M'Avoy, who complied with his wish. 
 Mr. L. attempts to throw all the odium upon Miss M'Avoy 
 and her relatives : he has charged them with obligations 
 they do not feel they owe him, and he has placed himself 
 in a situation, by his conduct upon this occasion, which, 
 when truly explained, will not add to his respectability.'^ 
 
 * Mr. Latham, I am told, boasts much amongst his patients that he was th« 
 first to find Miss M<Avoy out as an impostor : how will he manage when it ap- 
 
 X 
 
162 
 
 In the Narrative there is a letter from Mr. Jones, to 
 whom I applied for information, of the circumstances 
 which took place at Wavertree, during Miss M*Avoy's 
 visit, in which he states one fact in her favour, viz. the 
 naming (unerringly) the colours of flowers and leaves, 
 which he placed in her hands behind her. He qualifies 
 this positive fact by the relation of two other experiments, 
 in these words " another trial was with a cross-barred 
 white and laylock handkerchief, which I presented to 
 her, in the same manner. Not being able to describe it 
 with that quickness that characterises her usual cliscri- 
 fnination, she appeared embarrassed, and expr^sed a 
 wish that sufficient time might be allowed ; that, of course, 
 was granted : 1 then took a chair and sat facing her, after 
 turningthe handkerchief repeatedly (perhaps for the lapse 
 of ten minutes) she suddenly exclaimed *' I cannot find it 
 out ; threw it upon ray knee, and turning her eyes down, 
 which before leere fixed upwards, and not covered by 
 any bandage, she darted a look ai the handkerchief, took 
 it quickly from me, and placing it behind her, exclaim' 
 ed " I hare been too hasty." // was then, and not be- 
 fore, thai the colour of the handkerchief was defined,'* 
 
 *' Mr. Latham having one morning, whilst prosecuting 
 his experiments, borrowed a book from me, called the 
 History of England, wherein was a frontispiece represent- 
 ing King John, signing Magna Charta, the figures in 
 which were variously coloured, I was given to under- 
 stand by him, they were correctly described. Having 
 occasion to refer to some part in the book, I went up 
 stairs, the same day, and enquiring of a young lady, wh* 
 
 pears xMiss M'Avoy is no Impostor, but that she has been blind from the time 
 specified to the present moment. 1 have no doubt he will acknowledge the er- 
 ror he has committed and honourably pay the wager of a dinner and wine^, 
 which had been decided against him upon this point, by two iix^)curti4l Ge»- 
 Uemen, Vide Mr. Ucrey's letter iii the AppenOyi;. 
 
163 
 
 was above with Miss M'Avoy, in the room, whether she 
 knew where the book had been placed, she replied in the 
 negative. Miss M*Avoy immediately got up, and went 
 directly to the spot where it had been placed, by Mr. L. 
 without her knowledge and singled out the very identi- 
 cal book, that had been placed between four others on 
 the chimmey-piece. I feel fully convinced that she had 
 received no previous intimation^ respecting the situation 
 where the hook lay, as Mr. L. declared that he made no 
 mention of it to any one. This I record, not as a trial, 
 but as a circumstance that I was an eye witness to, and 
 which afforded me a sufficient proof, and has ever since 
 impressed upon my mind, that she was guided to the 
 place not by the sense of touchy hut of vision. I have 
 now, Sir, written all the facts that came under my own ob- 
 servation, uninfluenced by any other motive than the de- 
 claration of the truth, and if what I have related is at all 
 interesting, they are very much at your service." I have 
 copied the particular parts of this Letter, and have made 
 use of italics to mark to the reader the most material 
 points, that he may judge of the facts related. He will, 
 I think, consider the experiments with the leaves and 
 flowers concealed in Mr. Jones's and given into Miss 
 M'Avoy's hands, (fixed upon her back,) the colours of 
 which she "unerringly described," to be one of those 
 stubborn fi\cts which Mr. Jones or Mr. Latham cannot 
 get over by any subsequent experiment, unless it have an 
 equally good basis. I wish I could attribute to forget- 
 fulness, or to the influence of his Master,^- raiher than 
 to a deficiency of candour, the circumstance of Mr. Jones 
 only giving one experiment with a white and lilac hand- 
 kerchief, on this day, when he must, if his memory have 
 not entirely failed him, be aware this very Vt hite andlilao 
 -. - ^ , 
 
 » Mr. Jones, at this time^ was an Apprentice with Jlr. Latham. 
 
164 
 
 handkerchief was so faded, that he himself, declared he 
 did not think it a fair experiment. Several other hand- 
 kerchiefs were presented to her, the colours of which 
 she correctly named. A female, I am told, who was pre- 
 sent when these experiments Were made, calling: upon 
 Mrs. Hughes, told her Miss M*Avoy did not, at the time 
 above named, tell one handkerchief: the natural infe- 
 rence to a common hearer, would be, she did not tell 
 any ; but upon Mrs. Hughes observing her daughter had 
 said she had fold several, and only missed this white and 
 lilac handkerchief, the female allowed it, but still per- 
 sisted Miss M'Avoy could not name the colour of this 
 one. Why did Mr. Jones keep back the account of 
 the other handkerchiefs, in his letter? He had already 
 declared this fact in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hughes, Mr. Thomas, and his own uncle, at the bed-side 
 of Miss M'iVvoy, when he visited her. 
 
 The public will note in this, as in the other letters, 
 Mr. Sandars has published the very strong bearing they 
 all have to point out the quick manner in which she 
 darted looks or glances at the object ; but I think the ge- 
 nerality of persons who have visited Miss M*Avoy, will 
 agree with me, this assertion is carried to too great an ex- 
 tents Mr. Jones commits himself, in attempting to prove 
 too much, when he asserts Miss M'iVvoy received no pre- 
 vious intimation respecting the situation of this book. Is 
 Mr. Jones authorised to say it so positively, because Mr. 
 Latham made no mention of it to any one? Might not 
 Miss M'Avoy have obtained the information in any 
 other way? 
 
 Mr. Sandars observes, there is a moral evidence sup- 
 plied in the letters and communications he has received, 
 utterly destructive of the physical wonders displayed by 
 Miss MyVvoy. It has been well observed, he says, that 
 
165 
 
 " No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless 
 the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would 
 be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavours to 
 establish." " And I shall leave it to the world to decide, 
 whether the ev-idence to the miracle in question is not . 
 fairly impugned." This the public will have an oppor- 
 tunity of deciding npon, when I comment upon the let- 
 ters in question, which, as being of the most important 
 nature to the point at issue, I have left to the last, that 
 no extraneous matter might interfere with the due con- 
 sideration Mr. Sandars and others, have thought tkem 
 intitled to. In page 63, Mr. Sandars allows no conside- 
 ration of interest, or any other unworthy motives could 
 influence Miss M*Avoy's supporters, but he admits it is 
 no impeachment of their integrity, to doubt the accuracy 
 of their observation. The supporters of Miss M'Avoy's 
 integrity, are certainly obliged to Mr. Sandars, for this 
 admission, although they cannotbut observe, the assump- 
 tion rather to be of too arrogant a cast for Mr. Sandars, 
 with any degree of propriety, to make, whose means of 
 observation were too slight, in this case, to constitute 
 him a proper judge. Mr. Sandars observes, it is more 
 easy to believe one witness, who exposes the deceit, than 
 to believe one hundred who have attested facts, contrary 
 to nature. I will agree with him when deception is proved 
 against Miss M'Avoy ; but convinced, as I am, of Miss 
 M'Avoy's blindness, I am confident, as far as man ought 
 to be confident, that Mr. Sandars and the opponents of 
 Miss M'x\voy, are in error ; and I have no doubt the time 
 will arrive when such proof may be laid before them, which 
 will bring conviction to their minds, and I trust they will 
 then be willing to acknowledge it.^ 
 
 • It certainly has been proved that Miss M^Avoy has named colours, read, 
 &c. in situations where sight could have no influence; and from the observations 
 which have be$n made respecting the state of the eyes, and from their insensi- 
 
166 
 
 The opponents of Miss M'Avoy act upon the advan- 
 tage they have over her supporters, in the circumstance 
 of the peculiarity of her powers, which have no parallel 
 in history ; and they think it easier to deny the existence 
 of such powers, than to believe in their reality. Is this 
 the reasoning of philosophy or of bigotry? " Nonnd 
 pndet physicos haec dicere ?" " Sed quod crebro videt, non 
 miratur, etiamsi cur fiat, nescit, quod ant^ Don vidit ; id 
 si evenerit, ostentum esse censet." 
 
 In page 64, Mr. Sandars says, " as to the motives by 
 which she may be actuated, that is a point not very im- 
 portant, but I firmly believe, she has more speculation in 
 her eye than is revealed." " Her friend, the Doctor, with 
 his ex-parte-questions unfortunately makes her confess 
 " she feels gold and silver to be more pleasant than brass. 
 The harvest of credulity is not yet ripe for gathering, 
 but the labourers are in the field, and they sow not with- 
 out hope. If Miss M'Avoy had openly taken money 
 from the, first, her credit would have been extinct long 
 ago ; there are, however, many modes of receiving and 
 granting favours. I understand it is agreeable to the 
 Lady to make presents of work-bags and other trifles fot 
 which she receives presents in return." I am sorry, on Mr. 
 Sandars's own account, he should have so readily lis- 
 tened to reports disadvantageous to Miss M'Avoy, and 
 have published them in his pamphlet without better au- 
 thority than he is in possession of. Had he made any 
 
 bility to the application of those means which are commonly used for the pur-* 
 pose of ascertaining if blindness really exist, it is all but demonstrable, that 
 her eyes do not possess the power of vision. And if we should even be only 
 guided by Ciceros's rule, that *' non numero haec judicantur, sed , pondere,'* 
 a re-perusal of the evidence detailed in the Narative, or in this continuation 
 will justify her supporters in their belief; for probability is the only basis 
 upon which opinion can be formed, when the positive certainty of the &Mt 
 is not attainable* 
 
167 
 
 inquiry, he would have found Miss M'Avoy was not in 
 the habit of receiving any recompense for the little ba- 
 gatelles she gave away ; nor did she ever receive money 
 except that before mentioned, from Lord Lilford, which 
 was returned to him ; and I believ^e no presents were re- 
 ceived, but those I have specified. I know reports of this 
 kind have been circulated, but I believe them perfectly 
 unfounded, and if they were traced to their origin, they 
 would have been found to have arisen from mere malig- 
 nity of mind in the propagators. Let the libellers of her 
 integrity produce the proofs of her having accepted of 
 money upon any other occasion, as a return for her 
 courtesy in admitting visitors. 
 
 The letters published by Mr. Sandars, are six in num- 
 ber. There is also an account of a meeting on the 13th 
 of October, 1817, by two gentlemen, whose names are 
 given ; a copy of each is inserted in the Appendix. 
 
 No. 1, is the letter of Mr. Turmeau, in which the Rev, 
 John Yates's comments, upon Mr. Sandars's conduct, is 
 mentioned slightly. He merely states, the circumstance 
 of the goggles being tied over Mr. Sandars's face ; but 
 he says nothing of the distorted actions he made to ena- 
 ble him to see the object. Mr. Turmeau allows Miss 
 M'Avoy wn^ perfectly blindfolded with the goggles when 
 he placed them over her face, but she could not name a 
 colour, readj &c although she had before told all the co- 
 lours upon a card, given to her when she was uncovered, 
 except a yellow^ which she said was lilac. When the 
 card was presented to her, with its plain side upwards, 
 and her hands were placed under it, she could not name 
 a colour. The room was filled with company, and the 
 heat, he observes, was very oppres-sive. Three or four 
 other parties had been there the same morning, which 
 
16« 
 
 will sufficiently account for any failure of Miss IV1'A\ oy's 
 powers. Mr. Turmeau allows the whole party were ve- 
 ry angry with Mr. Sandars ; of course, Mr. Sandars's con- 
 duct could not have been very correct. She read two 
 lines correctly, when covered with the gold beaters skin, 
 but did not succeed in any experiments when the goggles 
 were put otir^- 
 
 Will Mr. Turmeau say if gold-beater's skin be properly 
 applied to the eyes, that Mr. Sandars, or any other per- 
 son, can see through it? Mr. Sandars only applied it 
 to one eye ; yet Mr. Turmeau positively saj-s Mr. San- 
 dars could see through that eye. Is it not as likely he 
 saw through the eye which was covered only with his 
 hand ? He speaks of the warmth of language of Mr. 
 Hughes, which was certainly very excusable, when Mr. 
 Sandars's provocation was considered. The only cir- 
 cumstance, however, which induced me to notice this 
 letter, arose from a positive assertion of ?»Ir. Turmeau 
 that, in taking leave, after Mrs. Hughes had said her 
 daughter was extremely ill and was up s^tairs, when de- 
 scending the steps, he accidentally turned his head, and 
 to his surprise, saw Miss M'Avoy standing at the 
 kitchen door with an infant in her arms. He says he 
 had no sooner caught a glimpse of her, than she slipt 
 out of his sight, as if wishing not to be observed. I had 
 heard this report before, and upon reading Mr. Tur- 
 
 • When the goggles have been applied, and she has named colours, Sec. her 
 opponents say she can see down the sides of the nose. In this instance she 
 did not succeed in naming any colour, and considerable stress is laid upon this 
 point. Why should this be done ? Mr. Turmeau must certainly know she had 
 told colours, &C. when the goggles were tied on at other times. I have ob- 
 served her opponents generally to find fault with the covering in which she has 
 succeeded ; and I have sometimes also known them to recommend another 
 ■which they afterwards objected to, when they found it did not prevent hor 
 from giving proofs of her power. 
 
169 
 
 meau's letter, I was struck with the positive manner iti 
 which he stated this circumstance. I inquired of Mrs. 
 Hughes and Miss M*Avoy, whether the assertions of Mr. 
 Turmeau were correct or not* Mrs. Hughes observed, 
 she was so much put out of the way, that she did not 
 know to whom she gave the child, but she thought it 
 was given to Miss D.* 
 
 Miss M'Avoy informed me she felt herself so unwell, 
 Ihat she retired into the next house with Mr. Thomas, 
 during the period that several persons were left in the 
 uninhabited house, and did not return to it on that day. 
 Mr. Thomas confirms this statement of Miss M'Avoy^ 
 and asserts he returned into the uninhabited house, 
 whilst Mr. Sandars was trying his experiments ; of course, 
 Mr. Turmeau, who from his own account^ left the house 
 after Mr. Sandars, must have mistaken the female into 
 whose hands the child was delivered. A considerable 
 time had gone by, when I inquired of Miss D. if the child 
 had been given to her, and she answered in the nega- 
 tive, although she observed she had frequently held 
 the child before. 
 
 Soirie time afterwards, I observed to Mrs. Hughes 
 how unfortunate it was she did not recollect to whom 
 she had given the child on the 24th of September. At 
 the moment we were speaking of the circumstance, a 
 female of the name of Norris, entered the room, to in- 
 quire after the health of Miss M'Avoy, and^ hearing 
 the circumstance mentioned, she instantly declared the 
 child had been given to her on a day she did not recol- 
 lect, but when a large party was assembled in the next 
 
 * As this Lady did not wish to have her najne inserted in Mr. Turraeau*» 
 letter, I have also given the initial only. 
 
 Y 
 
vro 
 
 house, and at a time when Mrs. Hughes was very much 
 flurried at something which had taken place. Upon be- 
 ing asked where she was when tlie party was going 
 away, she said she was in the kitchen looking forward, 
 as the dififerent persons went away, and she so far con- 
 firmed Mr. Turmeau's statement, by saying she retired 
 behind the kitchen door upon one of the gentlemen 
 looking back. 
 
 Mr. Dale, it seems, was induced to call upon Mr. Tuf- 
 meau, upon the subject of his letter, and they visited 
 Miss M'Avoy together, when this female was present, 
 and Mr. Turmeau, in a letter, in the Liverpool Mercury^ 
 dated the 22& of January, 1818, offers to swear to the 
 person he saw, being Miss M'Avoy, and not any other 
 person. He has made use of some ill-natnred expres- 
 sions, which I wish he had avoided, as they appear more 
 the result of wounded feeling, than of perfect conviction, 
 and which would not impress any one more strongly in 
 favour of his assertions. Mr. Turmeau speaks.of^is in- 
 dignation being excited, iat the appearance of this female, 
 and the attempt made to entrap, and impose upon him. 
 He then proceeds to shew the contrast between this wo- 
 man and Miss M'Av^oy ; he speaks of her as twice as large 
 in person. She appears, he says, to be between fifty and 
 sixty years of age, with the strongest marked physiog- 
 nomy he ever saw ; very dark conTplexion ;and one eye- 
 ball turned completely in. In the latter view, I may 
 observe, which he had of this female, h* was in the same 
 room ; but in the former he was descending the steps at 
 the house door, a considerable distance from the kitchen. 
 I have not examined, particularly, Mr. Tnrmeati's eyes, 
 which have a peculiar cast in them, but from my own 
 t>bservatiou, when I have met him in the street, I never 
 thought his sight very acute, and at the distance he was 
 
171 
 
 placed from this female, I scarcely thinJc he would be 
 justified in swearing so positively to her person, and still 
 less so to her complexion. In height, she is about the 8th 
 of an inch taller than Miss M'Avoy ; the difference of 
 bulk was so trifling, it would be hardly discernible. I 
 state these circumstances more positively, because I was 
 induced, from Mr Turmeau's account, to measure the 
 height of the parties in the presence of Dr. Hannay 
 and of Mr. Thomas. A little variation might arise, 
 from the circumstance of Miss M'Avoy being supported, 
 on each side, when she was measured, as she was unable 
 to stand upright, but I think, could she have stood up, 
 she would have been fully as tall as Mrs. Norris. Mr. 
 Turmeau mentions as a further proof of his accuracy, 
 that he could, if he thought proper, give the name of a 
 lady, who declares she heard Mrs. Hughes bid her daugh- 
 ter go into the kitchen and take care of the child ; and 
 she went accordingly. Soon after this, he says, he saw 
 her in the passage. 
 
 I am assured, also, that Miss, M'Avoy never had the 
 child in her arms during that day, for in the early part 
 of it, she was engaged in getting up her own linen, and 
 afterwards she was too unwell to hold it. Considering 
 the agitation of Miss M'Avoy, it is not very likely her 
 mother should desire her to go into the kitchen, nor up 
 stairs, as was mentioned in the first place, as there was no 
 fire in the kitchep, noc a chair up stairs to sit down upon, 
 the house belonging to Mrs. Hughes, and not being te- 
 nanted at this time What Mr. Turmeau's motives were 
 for not informing Mr. Dale of his previous acquaintance 
 with Miss p. he does not explain, although he says the 
 parties discovered this aftervvards, as yoy will observe in 
 the Sequel ?'* 
 
 * What this Sequel was, does not appear in the letter published in the Li- 
 verpool Mercury. — Vide this letter in the Appendix. 
 
172 
 
 The Seond Letter is from an anonymous person, and 
 Mr. Sandars says ** it is presumed that this gentleman's 
 testimony proves she has not a very exquisite touch. — ■ 
 From the error committed in reading the line, a very 
 strong presumption arises that she got it by rote, pre^ 
 viously to covering her head, and that her memory 
 hetrat/ed her.'' The gentleman does not say the book 
 was open before her previously to her head being co- 
 vered ; but in the beginning of his letter he says the 
 goggles were applied. 1 must of course, suppose they 
 were applied properly, and I think Mr. Sandars prema- 
 ture in making these remarks. He commits himself, when 
 he s^ys, " h^r memory betrayed her," because when she 
 named a few out of several pieces of coloured glass, at 
 Wavertree, he gave her credit for an excellent memory ; 
 but now it appears to suit his purpose better to say she is 
 deficient in memory. Would it not have been more candid 
 to have supposed she might have read the line wrong, 
 as a person who had good sight, but who read hastily? 
 If she really did see, it is not likely she would make the 
 mistake that thisaiionymcfus writer might expose her. "A 
 piece of crimson and white paper was put into her hand, 
 with the coloured side down, after feeling at it for some 
 time, she decided it was black and white. On afterwards 
 holding the paper up to the light, the crimson colour 
 }iad very much the appearance of being black. "=^ 
 
 The failure in the third experiment may be accounted 
 for by the sudden evanescence of the power, and her 
 
 » This is a curious circumstance, and it puts me in mind of Mr. Hughes, 
 formerly a pupil of our Infirmary, but now upon the Madras establishmer\tj 
 having remarked that she said a dark blue silk was black, and when he held 
 it up to the light, it ?ippe?ir?d quite black. At another time she also named 
 yellow to be a component part of a gown, which was ;iot known to have any 
 particle of yellow in it, nor could the party to whom it belonged, believe it, 
 \intil the gown was ript and the yeIlo\y shreds drawn out, Ho\y are these cir- 
 cumstances to be explained ? 
 
175 
 
 success, after the paper was withdrawn, to its return. 
 At any rate the cunning sometimes attributed to her, 
 was not very conspicuous in declaring it so immediately 
 after the paper was withdrawn. 
 
 The fourth experiment can only be explained upon a 
 similar principle with the third ; and although the letters 
 on "the seal were sufficiently large for a person with any 
 delicacy of touch, to have told what they were, yet this 
 writer might have supposed that the same causes which 
 produce the evanescence of the power, might have acted 
 in this instance totally to incapacitate her from naming 
 even a letter, which might be easily felt by another. 
 
 The third letter is from Mr. J. T. Koster, which re- 
 lates to an examination which took place on the after- 
 noon of the 23d of September. I was present, and have 
 remarked in the Narrative, that the experiments made 
 on that day were generally successful, and the parties 
 thought the coverings sufficient for the purpose of blind- 
 folding her. The coverings were two pieces of gold^ 
 beaters skin, the first sewed upon fine crape, and the se- 
 cond upon velvet, which were applied in rotation, after the 
 eye-lid had been properly closed, having been wetted in 
 the usual manner, and held upon the eyes until they were 
 dry. Mr. Koster insinuates, from her naming the co^ 
 lour of Mr. Earle's hair, after Miss M'Avoy returned in- 
 to the room, which she could not do before she left it, 
 that it was owing to his head being placed within the line 
 of vision, and that the intermitting of what is called the 
 young lady's faculty, together with the alleged necessity 
 of a free communication between her breath and the 
 object to be distinguished by the touch, are extremely 
 convenient." Mr. Koster may be correct, when he states 
 that the hat Miss M'Avoy first put her hand into, be- 
 
174 
 
 longed to Mr. Earle, but I did not observe it. I recol- 
 lect, however, Mr. Wm. Earle 's hat was presented to her, 
 which in consequence of his wearing powder, was so 
 soiled that I returned it to him, as Miss M'Avoy had 
 more difficulty in distinguishing colours, reading, &c. 
 where any greasy substance intervened. Whilst giving 
 Mr. William Earle his hat, a gentleman presented hjs 
 own (a new one) turned up-side-down, and she read the 
 makers name, but could not make out the German text 
 which followed. This might probably have escaped Mr. 
 Roster's notice, or he would certainly have mentioned 
 it.-'^ There is nothing else very material in this letter, as 
 what Mr. Koster has noticed, is very similar to that I 
 have stated to have occurred at different periods. 
 
 The fourth letter is that of Mr. Worthington. I 
 was not present at this examination, but Dr. Jardine 
 informs me it was his opinion the goggles were not 
 tied on properly. From the appearance of Mr. Wor- 
 thington's face I have no doubt they would have blind- 
 folded him completely ; at least all who have tried them, 
 with similar faces, allow them to have done so. Mr. 
 Thomas also informs me, she was very much agitated 
 during a great part of this examination, so that her pulse 
 beat at the rate of 160 pulsations in the minute, and that 
 when the paste board was used, she was surrounded with 
 lookers on, and one gentleman placed himself very near^ 
 and immediately opposite to her face, so that it would de- 
 prive her of the power, by producing that peculiar op- 
 pression any near obstruction to the breath almost imme^ 
 diately occasioned. Most of the other circumstances iu 
 
 • Mr. Thos. Myers, the Editor of the Mercantile Advertiser, who was pre- 
 sent on this day, perfectly recollects this experiment having been made, an<^ 
 its success. 
 
175 
 
 Mr. Worthington's letter have been so often mentioned in 
 the Narrative, that it is unnecessary to dweli upon them. 
 In this letter is also noticed, the previous direction of 
 the eyes with a rapid and instantaneous glance at the ob- 
 ject, and when they were not directed to it, she did not 
 name the colour, Mr. Worthington acknowledges the 
 eye did not blink when he rapidly darted his finger to- 
 wards the eye* He allows also that the pupils contracted 
 as much as those in healthy eyes, but he thought rather 
 more slowly, I have been informed at the time, Sir G. 
 R. Collier left the house, he expressed himself generally 
 satisfied with the result of the experiments; but afterwards 
 it has been said, he altered his sentiments, although he 
 did not visit her again. A number of stories have been 
 propagated at this gentleman's expense, by one of those 
 individuals who derive their support from the publication 
 of the miseries and wickedness of their fellow- creatures^ 
 terminating with their last dying speech and confession. 
 But as these are often prepared for the purpose, without 
 any certain foundation of their truth, so I presume has 
 this gentleman's name been brought in for a similar end, 
 the profit of the printer, or publisher, or of both. 
 
 The fifth letter is that of the friend of Mr. Bradbury, 
 and the facts contained therein, have been stated by Mr. 
 Bradbury, in the presence of Mr. Egerton Smith, Mr. 
 Bywater, and Mr. Rushton, the late partners of Mr. E. 
 Smith. The public must judge of this letter, and I should 
 wish the numerous individuals who have witnessed Miss 
 M'Avoy's powers, would declare their sentiments of it. 
 lam confident the great majority of them will say they 
 never saw her attempt to do any thing of a similar nature. 
 That Miss M*Avoy might occasionally appear to look 
 towards the object, she described, is very probable, and 
 T,ery natural ; but that she drew the cloth from behind 
 
176 
 
 Ber back, rapidly glance at these gentlemen, gaze at the 
 cloth, restore it to its former situation, before she named 
 it> "credat Judaeus Apelles non ego."*^ 
 
 Is this gentleman not aware that expefimerits had been 
 made in the presence of very many respectable witnesseSj 
 with the most satisfactory result, when the eyes were co- 
 vered, as well as iincovered. Am I, or are these witnesses 
 to giv^e up our united opinions, formed upon repeated 
 examination, to Mr. Bradbury's positive assei'tion unsup- 
 ported by any other evidence ? Satisfied as I and other 
 persons, capable of judging, are, of Miss M'Avoy's com- 
 plete blindness, what must we think of Mr. Bradbury, 
 who evidently visited her under extreme prejudice ? 
 
 The sixth letter is that of Mr. Lutwyche. It appears to 
 be artfully drawn up, but a few comments upon it will 
 shew how far it is entitled to the consideration Mr. San- 
 dars and others have given to it. I shall notice the most 
 prominent parts. It is somewhat curious that Mr. Lut- 
 wyche never publicly stated the result of experiments 
 made in February, 1817, upon a subject of this importance, 
 until called upon, by Mr. Sandars, because, if Mr. Lut- 
 wyche believed in his own experiments, he was doing in- 
 justice to himself in not detailing them before, and to me 
 also, if I relied on their verity, as it would have prevent- 
 ed me from troubling the public, with a perusal of the 
 Narrative, and would have saved me a good deal of la- 
 bour and of expense. The story of the Valentine ap- 
 pears improbable to me, who have so often seen her trace 
 different figures upon calico, silk, paper, snuff boxes, 
 
 • Mr. Jones has slated a similar circumstance with the lilac handkerchief, 
 and this assertion would appear as tlie prototype of Mr. Bradbury's, or vice 
 versa. 
 
r 
 
 177 
 
 (fee* ; and who never yet heard her name a figure until 
 her fingers had passed over it. So many evidences 
 might be brought forward to prove this point, that I 
 think it totalJy unnecessary to make any further com- 
 ment upon i(. 
 
 How far Mr. Steel's instrument,, made of pasteboard, 
 would answer the purpose of interrupting sight, and yet 
 admitting the communication of the fingers with the 
 mouth, the public will judge, when they read the para- 
 graph in Mr. Lutwyche's letter, containing an account of 
 it; for it certainly appears to me rather to prevent the 
 breath from communicating with the fingers; but as further 
 experiments have proved the opinion of Miss M*Avoy, 
 respecting the influence of the breath, in the distinction 
 of colours, &c. to be erroneous, it will not be necessary 
 to dwell upon this part of the subject. The account of 
 the watches offers the strongest obstacle to the veracity 
 of Miss M'Avoy; but I fear the eagerness with which 
 these gentlemen have attempted to prove Miss M*Avoy 
 an impostor, has been the cause of making them the 
 dupes of each other. Mr. Lutwyche certainly does not 
 rely on the force of his own experiment, or he would 
 never have wished for a second interview ; of course, 
 holding the opinion I do, of Miss M'Avoy's blind- 
 ness, I should suppose this letter was manufactured 
 for the purpose of misleading the public. The story of 
 the handkerchief rests upon mere supposition; but that 
 of the shreds of silk is a master-stroke ! Whoever saw her 
 literally tear the silk, but Mr. Lutwyche and his friends? 
 Hundreds, I may say thousands, have heard her name 
 colours she had felt, but not one, except this gentleman, 
 and his friends, ever saw her rub the silks so as literally 
 to tear them, or to " handle them with a roughness, which 
 
 z 
 
178 
 
 would rather tend to ascertain if they were hard or soft, 
 than to receive the rays of light and colour," All who 
 have seen Miss M*Avoy distinguish colours, will be con- 
 vinced that this is a forced account, and not worthy of 
 belief; and yet this " trifling circumstance which must 
 not be passed unnoticed, and which tended more than 
 any other circumstance, to shake our faith," Mr. Lut- 
 wyche says, " and to rank us among the unbelievers," 
 could not be comparable in any degree, as a proof, to the 
 very positive assertion that she told the time of the day 
 in one watch, which it was supposed she had seen, instead 
 of the watch, which he professed to place in her hands, but 
 which had been exchanged in transilu. Could there 
 have been a comparison between the two facts, as stated 
 in Mr. Lutwyche's letter ? In relating the tale of the 
 shreds and severe rubbing of the silk Mr. Lutwyche has 
 overreached himself, and by endeavouring to prove too 
 much, has proved nothing. Nay, he could not get over 
 the fact of her telling the colours behind her, without the 
 aid of the shreds, and the severe rubbing compleated the 
 climax! I might indeed, ask Mr. Lutwyche, how Miss 
 M*Avoy managed from the want of this aid, when the silks 
 were inclosed in glass?* 
 
 In the MercAiry of Nov. 14, 1817, is a letter of Mr. 
 Egerton Smith, addressed to iT.e, wherein he quotes 
 6ome observations with which I prefaced the introduc" 
 tion of his letter in the Narrative, as tending to impress 
 upon the public mind, that there was a discrepance be- 
 
 ♦ Mr. Sandars has given some particulars of the circumstances whicli occur- 
 red on the 13th of September, 1817, which are merely hinted at in the last page 
 of the Narrative. My account of the examination on that day, will probably 
 be found more accurate. Seepages five and six of the continuation of the Case, 
 and compare it with the account of the particulars related in the Hints toCre* 
 dulity, pages 36 and 37 ; or in the Appendix to the continuation of Miss 
 M'Avoy's Case. See the letters in the appendix. 
 
179 
 
 tweeu his testimony and his convictions. However 
 justly I might have done so, I had no intention of mak- 
 ing- any charge against Mr. Smith, but what was inevi- 
 table Irom his request that 1 would insert his letter in 
 the appendix, as it was necessary for me to assign a 
 reason for introducing it there, when I had before made 
 the requisite quotations from it. Mr. Smith, by the pub- 
 lication of his letters and paragraphs in his paper, had 
 fairly laid himself open to the investigation of them, 
 and as the narrator of this case of Miss M*Avoy, 1 had 
 an undoubted right to make those extracts from them 
 which had a relation to the subject, and to give them 
 as evidence at the bar of the public, who were capable' 
 of appreciating their value. 
 
 Whatever Mr. Smith's sentiments were at the time of 
 his visiting Miss M'Avoy ; whatever they have been 
 since ; or whether he has been influenced or not by the 
 opinions of other persons, is of little consequence, but 
 he must certainly allow me to judge of the result of his 
 experiments ; and that judgment coolly and dispassion- 
 ately exercised, prevents me from retracting the opinion 
 1 had before formed, that they afforded very strong evi- 
 dence in favour of Miss M'Avoy. Mr. Smith says he con- 
 fined him>elf to the scrupulous relation of facts, that he 
 saw her decipher very minute print and other objects, in 
 a light wherein he could barely discern the leaves of a 
 book. With a bandage over her eyes, through which, 
 when applied to his own, he could not ascertain the dif- 
 ference between moon and midnight, he saw the young 
 lady determine accurately the colour of cloth, riband, 
 glass, and other substances : and also peruse writing and 
 printed books. All these unaccountable facts he saw 
 with astonishment, and recorded with fidelity : but it cer- 
 tainly does not follow, because he could not corapre- 
 
180 
 
 hend how they were in reality effected, he must neces- 
 sarily believe they were the result of touch. 
 
 He is a little at a loss to discover how I could either 
 by implication, or more directly press into the already 
 crowed ranks of the believers, a person, who in the very 
 letter to which I had referred for my proofs, had ex- 
 pressed himself in the following heterodox style : — 
 " 1 could not account for what I had seen, except on the 
 supposition that Miss M'Avoy was not blind ; but had 
 some secret mode of discerning an object." And again, 
 " T never could divest myself of the impression, that the 
 eye was in some way or other concerned in these mys- 
 teries." Mr. Smith leaves it to my ingenuity to explain 
 how such an unequivocally expressed distrust of the fa- 
 culty ascribed to Miss M*Avoy, can have more weight 
 with the public in persuading them into a belief of the 
 same faculty, than his bare assertion of his doubts found- 
 ed, as I presumed, upon the opinion of those individuals. 
 I gave in proof of Miss M'Avoy's very peculiar powers, 
 these very experiments, and nothing has been advanced 
 by Mr. Smith, but mere supposition to contradict them. 
 The opinion of other persons, Mr. Smith allows, had no 
 small share in confirming the suspicions he uniformlij 
 entertained after his first or second visit. So far he 
 therefore assents to the correctness of my thoughts upon 
 the subject ; and many persons who have read his detail 
 of these ei^periments consider them, as I have done, and 
 do not hesitate to say he has committed himself, by 
 yielding to these opljiions, against the evidence of his 
 own observations: for what proof has Mr. Smith given 
 that Miss M'Avoy has such very acute sight, supposing 
 she really could see, as to know the colour of objects, to 
 read words, &c. in a light where he could barely discern 
 the leaves of a book ? 
 
181 
 
 Mr. Smith, indeed, in another part of one of his papers, 
 (T/«? Mercury) endeavours to qualify his sentiments af- 
 terwards, by graduating: the si^ht of different individuals, 
 and he wishes to diminish his own power in this respect, 
 while he increases that of other persons ; and at last his 
 defence of himself becomes so weak as to oblige him to call 
 to his aid the surprising stories of VVanley, and the wonders 
 of Munchausen. Mr. Smith, as well as all her other oppo- 
 nents, would have been at a loss for arguments, if it had 
 not been for the mistaken opinion of Miss M'Avoy, re- 
 specting the influence of her breath ; but as they have 
 no better ground from which they can make their attack, 
 they are determined to maintain it as long as they can. I 
 shall give them all the advantage of the error, but the 
 foundation has been sapped, and it will soon be untenable 
 even by the most hardy veterans in their opposition 
 against Miss M'Avoy's pretensions. 
 
 However preposterous it may appear to Mr. Smith, 
 it is nevertheless true, that " with her hands behind 
 her, upon the window opposite the communion end of 
 St. Paul's Church, she told the Bgures of people passing, 
 and the colour of the clothes, &c." It is no less true 
 that she named a purple flower, behind her, a light yel- 
 low, a marygold, and a small pincitshion of red cloth, 
 under a white handkerchief laying upon her knee, when 
 her hand was introduced under the handkerchief." — 
 Mr. Richard Rathbone, Mr. Barclay, their Ladies, Miss 
 Reynolds of Coalbrooke Dale, and other persons were 
 present when this experiment was made ; but this was 
 not more surprising than her declaring the colour of one 
 of the Claude Lorraine glasses, which Mr. Smith, Mr. 
 Nicol, and others could not distinguish, until they held it 
 between their eyes and the sun, when Miss M'Avoy's as- 
 sertion was confirmed. 
 
182 
 
 On the 12th of September, 1817, Dr. Taylor, late of 
 Bolton, was present with another gentleman, the Rev. 
 John Yates and his daughters, and the Rev. Thomas 
 Belsham. I have said upon this examination, her pow- 
 ers were deficient, although she named several coloured 
 silks correctly. She read very uncertainly a few words, 
 and told the time of the day in a watch, and she named 
 again the time of the day in two other watches, which 
 were not exactly alike. • 
 
 Mr. Smith does me but justice, in supposing I would 
 not wilfully suppress any fact which might militate 
 against my theory, as he expresses it; but Mr. Smith 
 ought to know the statement in the Narrative originated 
 from the facts which occurred at the time, not from a 
 bias on my part to any particular theory. He mentions 
 Dr. Taylor having pushed a stick towards Miss M'Avoy, 
 but 1 did not observe, although I recollect the circum- 
 stance, with what intention he did it, nor did I know the 
 deduction he drew from it, until I perused Mr. Smith's 
 letter. I must own I do not very well comprehend it 
 now, thirty-two months after the occurrence took place. 
 It seems an extraordinary circumstance Miss M'Avoy 
 should attempt to discover and actually name the nature of 
 the metal upon the upper end of a cane, when the ferule 
 was presented to her ! It would give me no proof of her 
 discernment, very little of her cunning, and still less of 
 her power of touch, to suppose for one moment she did 
 not know the difference between the ferule of a cane and 
 the top of it. As one proof, however, that the examina- 
 tion of this day did not produce a similar effect upon the 
 rest of the party, as it did upon Dr. Taylor, 1 shall quote 
 a part of a passage taken from the Medical and Physical 
 Journal for Nov 1817, which must allude to this exami- 
 nation. It is as follows, " satisfactory as the Rev. Mr, 
 
183 
 
 Glover's account of Miss M*Avoy must be to all impar- 
 tial readers, it (?annot be amiss to add that it has been 
 confirmed by a conv^ersation with another Reverend 
 Gentleman, long and well known for his Philosophical 
 acquirements, the steadiness of his judgment, and his 
 correct method of conducting his experiments." If I 
 am rightly informed, this gentleman was the Rev. Thomas 
 Belsham, who, I believe, was present only on this day. 
 The tale of Mr. Bradbury, as well as the observations of 
 Mr. Lutwyche and his friends, I have already commented 
 upon. I must candidly confess there is as little reason for 
 supposing Miss M'Avoy to labour under the hallucina- 
 tion of imaginary blindness ashy any comments, explana- 
 tion, or ridicule to do away with the force of Mr. Smitii's 
 own experiments. Peregrinator, to whom Mr Smith alludes 
 as the person propagating this opinion, has adduced some 
 other notions in a positive manner. He says, " I do not 
 believe that she is blind ; indeed, I may say it is demon- 
 strable she is not blind ; for in the present state of her 
 eyes, it is as impossible that she should not see, as that a 
 room with open vi^indows should be dark in the day time. 
 There is no outward apearance in the eye,' of opacity of 
 the cornea, or of the disease of the chrystaline called cata- 
 ract; and the eifect of an increase or diminution of light 
 in producing a contraction and dilatation of the pupil, 
 will convince any one at all acquainted with physiology, 
 that she is not affected with " gutta serena," or, in other 
 words, that the optic nerve has not lost its sensibility. I 
 am surprised that this latter circumstance has not had more 
 weight with Mr, Glover and the other scientific men, who 
 have paid attention to Miss M'Avoy's case. I have 'yet 
 to learn upon what principle this contraction and dilata- 
 tion takes place, unless it be from sympathy between the 
 iris and the retina; by this means, then, if I be not incor- 
 rect, we have the power of deciding beyond dispute, that 
 
184 
 
 jn Miss M'Avoy'scase the optic nerve is sensible to lig^ht, 
 in some degree at least, and as she does not acknowledge 
 this in any degree, it is certain either that she wishes to 
 impose on the public, or that she is imposing on herself." 
 Had this writer examined attentively Miss M'Avoy's 
 eyes he would have paused before he made the above ob- 
 servation; and if he had seen many eyes afflicted with 
 gutta Serena, he would have known that contraction and 
 dilatation did sometimes occur in these cases, but were 
 not esteemed by physiologists as a Certain proof of vision. 
 The wager Mr. Smith offered to bet, of twenty guineas, 
 with the different additions made to it since, he must hav^e 
 been well aware, could not have been accepted, because 
 Miss M'Avoy's health, at the time, prevented the trial of 
 any experiments which might distress her, from the ob- 
 struction given to her breath; and the repetition of the 
 offer should have been avoided as it could not produce any 
 satisfactory proof against her, even if it had been tried. 
 This offer has been very often alluded to by the oppo- 
 nents of Miss M'Avoy's powers, and her non-acceptance 
 of it has been brought against her. The very appearance 
 of this mask, of which there is a print in the Mercury , 
 will convince any one, who has seen the effect a hand 
 placed before the mouth had upon Miss M'Avoy, that 
 it would produce those sensations so distressing to her, 
 and deprive her of the power. 
 
 The following paragraph, taken from the Mercury, 
 will show the temper of some of her opponents — "In re- 
 ply to a very general verbal inquiry whether any notice 
 had been taken of the proposal, we have only to state 
 that in our absence from the office, a gentleman called 
 to say that Miss M'Avoy would accept the challenge, 
 provided she might have the mask in her posses- 
 sion for a few days previous to the decision ; as we do 
 
185 
 
 fwt know the individual who made this extraordinary 
 proposal, was authorized hy the Lady or her friends, 
 to deliver such a message, we shall abstain Jrom any 
 comment for the present'' Mr. Smith goes on to pro- 
 pose that two masks shall be provided, exactly similar ; 
 one of which shall be kept with her as long as she pleases, 
 on the condition that she shall exhibit in the other. The 
 Editor of a Newspaper allows himself great latitude ; he 
 can assume his own form or that of another person, in 
 making any assertion which may suit his interest, or gra- 
 tify his spleen, but I must own I gave Mri Smith credit 
 for better feelings, than to suppose he would condescend 
 to make his paper the vehicle of assertions so insulting to 
 an oppressed female. He must be well aware no gentle- 
 man ever went from Miss M'Avoy to offer such a propo- 
 sal, and his attempt to foist such an opinion upon the 
 public, will be received with the regard it merits. 
 
 Mr. Smith informs us, that the public is already in pos- 
 session of the ingenious device of Sir George B.Collierj 
 who is said td have practised such whimsical grimaces and 
 distortions of countenance, face to face with the lady, 
 that she could not resist the effect, but fell into a most 
 immoderate fit of laughter I Is this information derived 
 from Sir George B. Collier, or does it originate with 
 Mr. Bradbury's friend, or with the publisher of certain 
 memorable events, who may have made Mr. Smith the 
 vehicle of conveying these malignant aspersions? I 
 have asked several persons who were present at this 
 examination if this account were true ; but it seems 
 they had not observed any of these grimaces Sir 
 George B. Collier had the merit of making. Mr. 
 Smith says, " we have also heard from a very respecta- 
 ble and not very circuitous quarter, that our heroine has 
 been seen repeatedly dressing her hair, and adjusting h(Pr 
 
 A a 
 
186 
 
 dress in the ordinary mannerof a young lady at her look- 
 ing glass." I merely ask Mr. Smith for his proofs upon 
 this point, and he surely will not hesitate to give up his 
 authority for this assertion.^ 
 
 I am not aware who is the author of Veritas, who ad- 
 vocates the cause of Miss M'Avoy ; but I do not agree in 
 Mr. Smith's remark to " audeamus alteram," when he 
 says, that our notions of candour and justice do not ex- 
 actly square with his, nor can he reasonably expect we 
 should insert the letters of Veritas, upon this subject, 
 " when they have already been published in the Liver- 
 pool Courier.'^ The letters of Veritas differed from the 
 present opinions of Mr. Smith, and tha opponents of 
 Miss M'Avoy ; but if I mistake not, Mr. Smith had pledged 
 himself to publish the arguments on both sides of the 
 question ; and it would only have been fair, if he had 
 published the letters of Veritas. His politeness to the 
 Courier, the opponent of his political and other opinions, 
 upon this occasion, is not a little suspicious, but I have 
 no doubt the Editor of that paper, will properly appre- 
 ciate his forbearance, in not publishing what has before 
 appeared in the Courier. Mr. Smith, does indeed, ex- 
 
 • During the period when this assertion must have been made, it is well 
 known Miss M'Avoy had no hair to dress, from her head having been so 
 repeatedly shaved for the application of blisters ; nor am I aware she ever had 
 recourse to the use of false curls for the purpose of adornment. I must there- 
 fore set this assertion down as one amongst many others, which have been 
 dressed up for the purpose of throwing more obloquy upon this injured female. 
 Many other circumstances have been mentioned in that manner, which would 
 produce an effect upon minds which are liberal and good, to the disadvantage 
 of Miss M'Avoy ; but when they are duly considered and explained, they will 
 be found to,have had no other foundation than in the imagination of the indi- 
 viduals who propagated them, or from that miserable propensity which sortie 
 persons have of examining at their own partial bar, the conduct and character 
 of their neighbours. 
 
1S7 
 
 cuse himself for dwelling more upon the facts adduced 
 by the Anti-M'Avites, because he conscientiously 6e- 
 lieves the truth to he on their side I 
 
 The Writer who signs himself with a hand cut off at 
 the wrist, in the Mercury, and who is said to be Mr. 
 Smith, produces objections against the plain and simple 
 statement of two ladies, whose habits of rigid veracity, 
 and cautious inquiry, are well known ; and whose names 
 were left with the publisher of the Saturday's Adver- 
 tiser.^ I have inserted a copy of this, among the other 
 letters. This writer doubts the accuracy of these ladies, 
 and attempts to apologise for the rudeness of his doubts 
 by saying • 
 
 «' When alady*s in the case, 
 
 t* All other things of course give place." 
 
 Thii public will judge of this letter, and as it comes from 
 persons unconnected with Miss M'Avoy, it may have 
 that weight which the above writer denies it. The ex- 
 periment has often failed, but it has frequently succeed- 
 ed. The eye-lids of Miss M'Avoy were sometimes very 
 tender, and if pressed roughly, she suffered so much 
 pain, that it deprived her of the power. It has been cus- 
 tomary for the opponents of Miss M'Avoy to propose 
 tests, and when they have succeeded, to object to them ; 
 so it has been in this ease, and we find this writer prefer- 
 ing the application of the whites of eggs, gold-beaters 
 skin, as more compleat, than the application of the fingers 
 to the eye-lids, and less liable to the alleged objection. 
 
 I have now given a general and rather elaborate 
 account of the proofs adduced by Mr. Sandars and 
 others, and the public will be better able to judge how 
 
 •See the letter signed T. S. M. in the appendix. 
 
IBS 
 
 far the basis, upon which the opponents of Miss M'Avoy 
 have endeavoured to arraign her integrity, is well 
 founded and correct ; and whether the motives which 
 have actuated them in the prosecution of this subject 
 have been pure, not tinctured by prejudice, not biased 
 by any other motive than the simple elucidation of the 
 truth. 
 
OF 
 
 MISS m^avoy's case 
 
 X SHALL give a general account of the powers of Miss 
 IVrAvoy, and recapitulate the principal facts in the Nar- 
 rative ; the names of several of the witnesses who ob- 
 served them ; the experiments of Mr. Egerton Smith ; of 
 the Rev. Thos. and Edw Glover, and of a few other in- 
 dividuals, which are corroborative of those I have stated. 
 
 . On the 28th of June, 1816, when Miss M'Avoy reco- 
 vered, in some measure, the use of the ri^ht hand and 
 arm, Mrs. Hughes gave her a stocking to knit, which oc- 
 cupied her attention and relieved her from that total 
 want of employment her illness occasioned, 
 
 On the 2d of August, I was induced to call upon Miss 
 M'Avoy with Mr. Thomas, who told me she had become 
 very expert in sewing. I found her in the act of sewing, 
 which she appeared to execute with considerable neat- 
 ness. She put into my hands a stole, which she had as- 
 sisted in finishing for the Rev. Edward Glover, her con- 
 fessor, to whom she was under very considerable obliga- 
 tions for his kindness and attention during her illness. 
 She also made several neckerchiefs, and a frock for her 
 
190 
 
 little sister, and darned a pair of black silk gloves with 
 great neatness. It appeared from the account of her mo- 
 ther, Mrs. Hughes, that before Miss M*Avoy was able to 
 leave her bed after the first attack, she complained of 
 weariness and anxiety, particularly in the night, which, 
 from not sleeping well, appeared long and dull. Miss 
 M'Avoy requested her mother to give her a needle, that 
 she might try to thread it. The first time she made four 
 attempts before she succeeded in threading it, and the se- 
 cond time she threaded the needle after two trials. She 
 then asked for sewing, and her mother gave her a coarse 
 towel. She was very awkward at first, and this awkward- 
 ness was much increased by not looking at her work, and 
 her eyes seemed to be wandering in every direction, 
 about the room, but where they ought to be. Her mo- 
 ther desired her to fix her eyes as if she were looking 
 intently at her work. Miss M^Avoy endeavoured to 
 follow this advice, and applied with so much perseve- 
 rance, that she succeeded nol only in this point, but 
 sewed much better than ever she had done before her 
 deprivation of sight.* Mr. Thomas and I particularly 
 
 • After the Wavertree meeting, the doubts expressed of her poAvers, pro- 
 duced an unexpected effect upon her general system. If she were asked to 
 sew, particularly if strangers -were present, she would attempt it, but was of- 
 ten obliged to lay down her work, as if incapable of proceeding with it. If no 
 notice were taken of her, she would resume it, and go on sewing ; often with 
 her eyes directed in such a manner that she could not see the work, if her vi- 
 sion were perfect. When the catching or oppression in the breathing, or the 
 convulsive motion of the diaphragm comes on, she is frequently observed to de- 
 sist from sewing, and knitting : and will often not be able to resume her em- 
 ployment for a whole day, or even for a longer period. It would appear, there- 
 fore, t hat the liending down of her head upon her v>ork, is the mere effect of 
 habit, and the occasional incapability of pi-oceeding with it, must arise from 
 that nervous irritability excited by the slightest cause, and which is the most 
 peculiar concomitant of her case. This supposition is moreover, confirmed by 
 the quality of the work ; that which has been done while these symptoms were 
 more moderate, or absent, being extremely well executed, whilst the other parts 
 Will be better or worse done, in some proportion to the degree of violence with 
 
I9l 
 
 examined her eyes, exposed to the light of a candle, as 
 near to the eye as possible without burning her, but 
 without observing the slightest contraction or dilatation 
 of the pupil, or the least sensibility in the eye. I have 
 frequently, since this period, thrown my hand suddenly 
 towards her face; have pretended to dash a pointed 
 penknife at the eye ; and have often applied the point of 
 the finger in a quiet and steady manner, as near as possi- 
 ble to the pupil, without observing the slightest sensa- 
 tion in the eye. Mr. Thomas assured me he has more 
 than once put his finger upon the cornea itself, which 
 then appeared insensible; but when he touched the eye- 
 lid or eye-lash, she was instantly sensible of it. I have 
 sat for a considerable time attending to her sewing, but 
 apparently indifferent about it ; and during: these visits, 
 I have examined her every action as minutely as possi- 
 ble, and- 1 have been satisfied she could not see. In 
 threading her needle, it sometimes required only one ef- 
 fort, but often three or four, before she was successful. It 
 was curious to observe her when, by accident, the point 
 of the thread was bent: she would try to thread the nee- 
 dle three or four times, and if she did not succeed, would 
 put it into her moulh, and bite ofP a part, or take her fin- 
 ger and feel whether the thread were straight or not. 
 More than once I have giv^en her the needle with the 
 point upwards, when she accidentally dropped it: she 
 attempted, but finding, after a few trials, that she could 
 not thread it, she would put her finger upon the needle, 
 and feeling the point, would turn and thread it: once, 
 also, I broke the eye of a needle iu drawing the thread 
 
 which they affect her. This I proved in the dark one evening. I gave her a 
 cravat to hem, which 1 had marked for the purpose. She threaded her own 
 needle. The first part, which she hemmed, was very well done, but tlie latter 
 very indifferently, asthe catching in the breathing cairip on duriua: ihe limi^ 
 with considerable \ iolence. 
 
192 
 
 hastily out; but was not aware of the circumstance until 
 Miss M'Avoy had made several attempts to thread it ; but 
 failing, she felt the eye with her finger, and told me it 
 was broken, which, upon examination, I found to be the 
 case. 
 
 In the general business of the house, she was more 
 active than ever she had been, assisting in making the 
 beds, attending upon her half brothers and sisters, and 
 was cheerful and agreeable in her manners to every 
 body about her, and more particularly to those who 
 visited at the house. 
 
 I shall now give an account of the manner in which 
 it is stated Miss M*Avoy found herself possessed of cer- 
 tain powers of an extraordinary nature, and the relation 
 of which excited the curiosity as well as the criticism of 
 many individuals. It was very early in Sept. 1816, that 
 her stepfather, Mr. Hughes, was reading a few pages in 
 a small book belonging to one of his children, in which 
 a history was given of the life of St. Thomas a Becket, 
 nol very favourable to his general character. He men- 
 tioned it to his wife and daughter, and said he recollect- 
 ed having read once a very different account in another 
 book. Miss M'Avoy told him she had, before she was 
 taken ill, seen an account of his life in a book enti- 
 tled the Lives of the Saints, and, if she had the book, 
 could point out the place where it was. The book was 
 put into her hands, and, in turning over the leaves, she 
 pointed out the place, passed her fingers over it, and 
 read a few words. In a jocular manner Mrs. Hughes 
 asked her if she could feel the letters with her fingers. 
 -She said she felt the words she had read, and would try 
 again if her father would give her a book. A number of 
 a folio bible, of tolerably large print, was given, and she 
 
193 
 
 read several verses to the great astonishmeDt of her fa- 
 ther and mother. Upon hearing this account, I was in- 
 duced to visit her again with Mr. Thomas, and took con- 
 siderable pains in examining the eyes ; but we found little 
 or no alteration in their general appearance, except that 
 the pupil was not quite so much dilated as before ; but 
 the light of a candle appeared to have no influence upon 
 it. We found her father's account very accurate, and 
 that she really could read by the application of the fin- 
 ger to the letters, with considerable fluency- As it was 
 probable any other person, who had not the same oppor- 
 tunity of judging of her blindness with Mr. Thomas and 
 me, might think it possible she could see, I thought it 
 right to bind something over the eyes, and I made use of 
 a Manchester cotton shawl, which went twice round the 
 head, crossed the eyes, and was tied at the back of the 
 head, as firmly as she could bear it. I placed in her hand 
 a number of the Bible above mentioned, and she read v^ery 
 correctly one verse of a chapter in Genesis. I then re- 
 quested to have another book, which happened to be a 
 volume of the Annals of the Church. I opened it, and 
 she read to me several lines, with the alteration in a pro- 
 per name of only one letter, which, upon being desired 
 to read over again, she corrected. I then turned to a few 
 lines of errata, and she read them correctly, only read- 
 ing the letter 1. as an I and a dot. The mode she follows 
 is to place her fingers upon the book, and when she feels 
 the letters, to proc^d from the beginning to the extre- 
 mity of the word, and back again until she names it, and 
 so on to the next word. She often makes use of the fin- 
 gers of both hands, particular the fore fingers ; and when 
 they are in good order, she will read from twenty-five to 
 thirty words in half a minute. 
 
 On the following day I mentioned the circumstance to 
 Bb 
 
J94 
 
 a friend, who was anxious to see a phenomenon of this 
 kind, and he met me in St. Paul's Square. MissM'Avoy 
 again read over to us a verse in the Bible, a few lines in 
 the Annals of the Church, and the title page, mottos, and 
 several lines in a 12mo edition of Grahame's Sabbath. I 
 placed her fingers upon a blank leaf, and desired her to 
 read. The attempt was made, but she said she could 
 not feel any letters. Her fingers were then placed upon 
 another leaf, which she declared was also blank. 1 then 
 desired her to feel the upper part of the leaf; she did so, 
 and said she felt something, but it was so confused she 
 could not make out what it was. The fact was, a lady's 
 name had been written in the book, and when 1 took it 
 from my library, I scratched the name out with a pen, so 
 that it was not distinguishable to the eye. My friend 
 brought with him a French assignat, of which it is more 
 than probable Miss M'Avoy before did not even know 
 the name. She read it over, and mentioned the lines 
 upon it as distinct from the plain paper, and the colour 
 of them, which was black : she also decyphered the ad- 
 dress and post-mark of a letter received by that morning's 
 post : she named the colours of the coats, waistcoats, and 
 pantaloons of the gentlemen present with accuracy. She 
 gave a correct account of a few cards, one or two of 
 which were put under a small table, placed before her. 
 A little boy, the half-brother of Miss M'Avoy, brought 
 in several pieces of broken glass, of different coloursi 
 She told very readily the different colours as they were 
 ^iven to her, and, in a few pieces, where the glass had 
 not been perfectly fused, she named the colour of that 
 part which was perfect, and of that which was imper- 
 fect. 
 
 She distinguished the different colours of silk, of cot- 
 ton, i}T of wool, and the brighter and more vivid the co- 
 
195 
 
 lour, so much greater is the pleasurable sensation it af- 
 fords. If they consist of many colours in the same piece, 
 she will point out each colour, and trace the line where 
 it terminates. If the silks are of that kind called shot 
 silks, she will tell the colour of the ground, as well as the 
 intermixture. If the different pieces are besmeared with 
 oil, or any greasy substance, she cannot so easily distin- 
 guish the colour; but if it be nearly faded, she will point 
 out where it is faded or where it is bright. She can dis- 
 tinguish the colours of the paintingsof enamelled or var- 
 nished boxes, will trace the outline of the figures, and 
 will generally state the subject of the painting with a de- 
 gree of accuracy which is surprising. At times, how- 
 ever, this feeling is suddenly lost, and after describing 
 colours, reading, &c. with great nicety, she will declare 
 she cannot tell the colour, or will say it is black. 
 
 The persons who have visited her once, are generally 
 knovi'n to her again by their manner of walking or breath- 
 ing, or by the voice. She tells the dilTerence in the 
 size of one person from another who enters the room, if 
 asked to do so. If a colour be placed upon the back of 
 her hand, or upon the cheek, she will name it correctly. 
 She has at different times told colours with her fingers, 
 read with her hands behind her and under the bed- 
 clothes,*^ or under a sheet of paper, but seldom for any 
 length of time. 
 
 The mode adopted for binding the eyes, in 'the first 
 instance, was the Manchester shawl, and it was generally 
 agreed to be sufficient for the purpose ; but it was not 
 
 * More than one individual can corroborate these facts. Mr. Evans, Surgeon 
 of Liverpool, was at one time present when she read under the bed-clothes.— 
 vide his letter in the Appendix. 
 
196 
 
 tboaght so by a few individuals, and other means were 
 adopted to satisfy them. A pair of goggles were ob- 
 tained, and covered with dark-blue paper. Many trials 
 were made with these, sometimes with, and often without 
 a silk handkerchief tied over them, and over the head. 
 At this period the goggles seemed to be the most in use 
 for covering the eyes, and various additions were made 
 to them, according to the various wishes of the indivi- 
 duals who visited her, until they were made into a com- 
 plete mask, covering the whole of the face except the 
 nostrils and mouth. They were tied by several pieces of 
 tape at the back of the head, in almost every direction, 
 and two pieces of tape crossed each other under the nose, 
 just below where a line of cotton wool was sewed in, so as 
 to prevent any ray of light from passing upwards. Dur- 
 ing the continuance of a severe inflammation of the eyes, 
 which had^been produced probably by the heat occasion- 
 ed by the gogglss, which were kept on for a considerable 
 time, Mr. Thomas and I made use of the pledgets, dip- 
 ped in a weak solution of super acetate of lead, over which 
 a neckcloth was tied, and which answered every purpose 
 we could wish. Occasionally we only pressed the eye- 
 lids gently down with the fingers, and held them in that 
 situation until she had gone through the trial intended. 
 
 The rumour of Miss M*Avoy's talent in distinguishing 
 colours, soon occasioned a great influx of visitors, wh:o 
 went away generally satisfied she really possessed the 
 power. A considerable number of medical men had alrea- 
 dy visited her, and it became a subject of conversation 
 at Dr. Brandreth's, where a large party dined on the 
 26th of Oct. 1816. It was agreed that a certain number 
 shoul«l meet me, in St. Paul's Square, on the Monday 
 following, at eleven o'clock, and I sent amessageto Mr. 
 Hughes, stating my intention. I found that, at the re- 
 
197 
 
 qu/8st of Mr. Latham, surgeon and apothecary of Wa* 
 vertree, Miss M*Avoy had g-one to spend a few days with 
 his family. A few of the gentlemen put off their inten- 
 tion to another opportunity ; but Drs. Trail and Jardine, 
 Mr. Redmayne,^ and 1, went to Wavertree, and we were 
 very soon followed by Drs. Formby and Vose. Before 
 our arrival, several persons had visited her, and she had 
 been engaged more or less with them since breakfast time. 
 She had named and told colours, and I have understood 
 they were particularly satisfied that jVIiss M'Avoy posses- 
 sed this extraordinary power. 
 
 Dr. Jardine took the notes upon this occasion, and from 
 the experiments made at Wavertree, however unsatisfac- 
 tory, we may draw the conclusion, that she did not en- 
 tirely fail. At this time the eyes were covered with the 
 goggles, and this mode appearedsatisfactory to the gen- 
 tlemen present. She read a few lines in the Roman History, 
 sometimes correctly, but more frequently she was incor- 
 rect. In a partially darkened room, she made nothing 
 out, except the white lines and letters upon Dr. Trail's 
 varnished snuff box, the white lines of w-hich, Drs. 
 Trail and Jardine could scarcely see. In the third ex- 
 periment, when the eyes were covered with a handker- 
 chief and lint, or goggles and lint, several pieces of 
 glass were given to her, and she told three colours out 
 of four. It should be mentioned however, that she 
 brought these glasses from home, and it may be possibly 
 supposed, she recollected the figures of the pieces of glass, 
 as she had repeatedly fingered them. If this were the 
 case, as the glasses were numerous, her memory must 
 have been very tenacious, to have retained the form. 
 
 • Mr. Kent is mentioned, in the Narrative, by mistake, as one of the 
 party at Wavertree. 
 
198 
 
 and, by the forms, to have told the colour of the glass. 
 In the fourth experiment, the eyes were uncovered, aud 
 she told seven colours out often. If she had been capa- 
 ble of seeing, she might as well have told them all cor- 
 rectly. We ought not, I think, in candour, to attribute 
 this greater degree of power, when the eyes were unco- 
 vered, to her seeing, but to the relief afforded, and to the 
 remission of pain and throbbing in the head, when the 
 pressure from the lint, or cotton, &c. were removed. 
 In the fifth experiment, her eyes were covered with the 
 goggles, stuffed again with lint, and she did not tell any 
 thing. In the sixth and last experiment, the red painted 
 glasses were given to her, when her eyes were unco- 
 vered, and she said the colour was red. Upon the whole, 
 the trial was unfortunate, and it was afterwards cur- 
 rently reported that Miss M*Avoy could see. This dis- 
 appointment was injurious in many respects, not only as 
 it related to the suspicions thrown upon Miss M'Avoy^s 
 veracity ; but as it caused a censure to be cast upon Mr. 
 Thomas, me, and upon many others, in allowing our- 
 selves to be imposed upon, it was still more unfortunate 
 for the investigation of the truth, as it produced a hike 
 warmness in many respectable individuals of our profes- 
 sion, w^hich prevented them from prosecuting the in- 
 quiry.* 
 
 Mr. Bickersteth, a respectable surgeon, and one of my 
 colleagues at the Infirmary, called upon Miss M'Avoy on 
 the Friday evening previous to the 26th of October 1816. 
 He gave her, when covered, amongst other things, a piece 
 of green silk, striped with one or more yellow lines, and 
 
 • See my comments upon Mr. Sandars's pamphlet, where he gives an account 
 »f this visit— Pages 31, 32, 33, and 34; and pages 143, 150, and 151 of this con- 
 tinuation of her case. 
 
199 
 
 certain figures written upon it; of which Mr. Bickersteth, 
 before he gave it to her, had not taken notice. She said 
 the lines were white, and repeated the number of 
 the figures. On the Saturday following, Mr. Bick- 
 ersteth, mentioned at the Infirmary, the general 
 circumstances which bad occurred. Dr. Gerard, who 
 had formerly been a Physician of that Institution, was 
 present, and it was agreed we should visit Miss M'Avoy 
 at one o'clock. We called upon Mr. Thomas, and pro- 
 ceeded to St. Paul's Square. The eyes of Miss M*Avoy 
 were covered with the goggles, and she told almost eve- 
 ry colour given to her, and read, &c. When, however, 
 the piece of green silk was again put into her hands, she 
 said this is the same piece of silk which was given to me 
 last night ; it then seemed to be green and white lines^ 
 but it is now green and yellow : light yellow, or straw-co- 
 lour, would appear to any one white by candle light, and, 
 it did appear white to Miss M'Avoy.* 
 
 On the 31st of October, 1816, Miss M'Avoy visited 
 Mr. Charles Clements in Queen-street. There was lit- 
 tle fire in the room, and it was so dark that candles were 
 brought in, but were afterwards ordered away, from the 
 wish they had to hear Miss M'Avoy read, &c. A book 
 just published upon brewing, was put into her hands, and 
 she read a few lines correctly, but in attempting to read 
 the word vat, she only made out a v and a t. Mr. Cle- 
 ments was induced to take the book, and he had some 
 difficulty (from the small quantity of fire in the grate,) 
 to distinguish the words : he, however, found it out to be 
 the letter a, turned upside-down. She told also the co- 
 lours of ditTerent substances, given to her, very accu- 
 
 ' How may this circumstance be exiilained? 
 
200 
 
 rately, in a light by which no other person could distin- 
 guish them, and when the parties were standing between 
 .her and the fire.* 
 
 At different times, after the examination at Wavertree, 
 Miss M*Avoy continued to distinguish colours, when put 
 into her hand, to sew, read, &c. ; but not with so much 
 certainty as she did at first. She was easily agitated, 
 and, if any one disputed the power she possessed, it al- 
 ways produced irritation, and made her less able to give 
 proofs of it. But with the amendment of Miss M'Avoy's 
 health, the faculty of distinguishing colours, &c. became 
 more acute. On this day, (17th January, 1817,) she not 
 only declared the colour of different cloths, cotton, and 
 silk, but several pieces of silk which w^ere inclosed in a 
 small phial bottle ; she traced with her finger the edge 
 of each ;and, when another phial was given, which did 
 not contain any thing, she declared it to be empty. Bot- 
 tles of white glass, holding magnesia, red precipitate, 
 red oxyd of mercury, and bark, were seperately given 
 to her, and she accurately named the colour, and told 
 how high the bottle was filled with each substance : 
 two small bottles, the one containing water, and the 
 other spirits of wine, were placed in her hands; she said, 
 the first was colourless, like water, and the second was 
 similar in colour, but had a different feel, being much 
 warmer. I was not certain which was the water, and 
 which the spirits of wine, as there was not a perceptible 
 difference in colour, until I tasted the contents of the two 
 phials, when the second was proved lo be the spirits of 
 
 •These facts corroborate the statements of Mr. Smith and others. The let- 
 ter of Mr. Berey in the Appendix, states some facts: he mentions one, the nam- 
 ing a letter, written in sympathetic Ink. 
 
201 
 
 wine,^ Soon after this period the Rev. Edw. Glover asked 
 her, if she could tell the time of the day, by feeling- the 
 surface of the glass, covering- the dial plate of a watch, 
 her answer was, she had never tried it. A watch was gi- 
 ven into her hands : she felt the surface of the glass, and 
 very soon named the hour. She was afterwards so exact, 
 that she not only named the hour, but the number of mi- 
 nutes the minute hand had passed the hour. Once I 
 gave her my watch, when the hour was twelve o'clock. 
 She mentioned the hour, but observed, there was only 
 one hand ; the minute hand being exactly over the hour 
 hand. Mr. Glover assured me, that for several days he 
 was afraid of speaking of the circumstance, lest he should 
 he laughed at ; but, she so often repeated this experiment 
 in his presence, and in that of other persons, that he 
 made no hesitation in mentioning it. She told the co- 
 lour of the different hands, whether they were of gold or 
 of steel. She distinguished a gold from a silver watch. 
 Brass and copper were also submitted to her touch, and 
 she immediately discovered the one from the other. The 
 colours of various seals and stones, whether mixed or not, 
 were correctly named, as well as those of gems ; but it 
 was only the colour, and not the nature of the stone, un- 
 less she had before been acquainted with it. The eyes 
 were covered with the goggles. t 
 
 • The Rev. James Hornby, Rector of Win wick, if I mistake not, made a few 
 experiments with different fluids, which were favourable to the opinion of 
 Miss M'Avoy's powers, and were in some measure similar to those I had made. 
 
 t In this paragraph are contained details which have thrown a doubt upon 
 the minds of Miss M'Avoy's friends, and have confirmed, still more strongly, 
 the suspicions of her opponents. As facts, no man who has not seen them will 
 believe, that she named colours contained in glass bottles ; or between two pieces 
 of glass : or the time of the day in a watch, through the glass ; or that she 
 stated, which she afterwards did, the figures of objects at certain distances, 
 with her hands placed upon the window : or, in one instance with her back to- 
 
 C C 
 
202 
 
 On, or about the 28th of March, Miss M^Avoy first 
 made use of the magnifying glass, and by applying her 
 fingers to the glass, she read the direction upon a label. 
 The letters" seemed to rise, she said, up to the fingers. 
 On the 19th of April, Messrs. Bickersteth, sen. and jun. 
 and I, proceeded to St. Paul's Square. Mr. Thomas was 
 also present. The mode of covering the eyes this even- 
 ing, was one I had tried, for the first time, a few days be- 
 fore, and consisted of a piece of gold beater's skin, suffici- 
 ently large to cover the eye, extended, and sewed upon 
 two pieces of velvet, which adhered to each othenr over 
 the nose. The edge of the velvet could be turned up, so 
 that, when the gold beater's skin was wetted and applied 
 to the eyes, and then allowed to dry, it appeared closely 
 adhering to the skin. This mode of covering wasplea- 
 santerto MissM'Avoy than any other I had before used ; 
 and it was a cooler application than either the goggles, 
 or the Manchester shawl. She named the colour of 
 
 t\'ards the window, and in reveral when covered with the goggles, or other 
 covering, to the satisfaction of the bye-standers. Yet these facts have been 
 witnessed by the Rev. E. Glover, by the Rev. Thos. Glover, by Mr. Thomas, 
 by myself, and many other individuals ; and the experiments which have 
 proved their truth, have been repeated by several persons. Mr. Samuel Pea» 
 coek, late Surgeon in Liverpool, but now of Upton in Cheshire, corroborates 
 one of these facts, by an experiment upon his waich, which he altered from 
 the real, to an uncertain hour of the day, when Miss M'Avoy was covered not 
 only with the goggles, but with gold beaters skin. He placed the watch with 
 its face downwards, and covered it with a handkerchief: he then took Miss 
 M'Avoy'shand and placed it under the handkerchief upon the glass, when she 
 told the time of the day exactly as marked upoft the dial plate. — Vide his let- 
 ter in the Appendix. 
 
 Having been a witness of these facts having taken place, I iHust give thena 
 that credence an unbiassed mind cannot, with justice, refuse ; but I certainly 
 c«nnot deny, that the more 1 think upon the subject, the more I am puzzled 
 to account for it ; because it supposes an influence not properly understood, 
 and which cannot therefore, be satisfactorily explained. There can be no doubt 
 the statement is correct, if <uiy reliance is to be placed upon the evidence ^f 
 4he senses. 
 
203 
 
 every piece of silk that was given ic) her, except one, and 
 that she told afterwards. A piece of green silk wasinclo- 
 sed between two pieces of glass, and the edges of the 
 glass were sealed with sealing wax : upon feeling the out- 
 side of the glass, she said the colour was green ; a piece 
 of red silk was inclosed in a similar manner, which she 
 named correctly. She told the hour and minutes in two 
 watches, which differed in time from each other. When 
 placed in a situation of complete darkness, three cards 
 were given to her : the two first were clubs, and the last 
 hearts ; &he said they were all black. A green and black 
 plaid was given into her hands also, when the room 
 was quite dark ; but it was black to her feeling. Upon 
 Dr. Jardine opening the door, a feeble light was throwu 
 upon a part of the plaid, and she then declared it to be 
 green and black, when no other person Dy the same light, 
 could ascertain the colour. 
 
 It was about this period that Miss M^Avoy endeavour- 
 ed to amuse herself in making small baskets of coloured 
 paper: it was curious to observe her passing the paper 
 through the interstices of the basket work. She was of- 
 ten foiled by the point of the paper being turned inward 
 or outward. If she found she did not succeed after two 
 or three attempts, she used her fingers to straighten it, 
 and then pushed it through. She sometimes used a pin, 
 or needle, to raise the paper under which the point 
 should pass. 
 
 June 1 9th. — Reads and tells colours more perfectly 
 than for some time past. Dr. Erandreth and Mr. Shaw 
 were present : she read the maker's name in Dr. Bran- 
 dreth's hat, " Capon, hat-maker, London," with her 
 hands behind her. The eyes were covered with the 
 black velvet and gold-beater's skin, with a silk handker- 
 
904 
 
 chief tied over the whole. She read several lines, which 
 Dr. Brandreth wrote, with tolerable precision ; and when 
 she mistook a letter, it was more like what she named, 
 than what Dr. Brandreth intended, as it was written in 
 great haste. She told some letters upon a snuff box, which 
 could not be read easily without a magnifying glass ; 
 and, with this glass, she read all the words but the termi- 
 nation of the last. She traced with her fingers, the land- 
 vscape, which consisted amongst other objects, of two 
 cocks fighting : she said they were like two peacocks : 
 the tails of the cocks were very full, and we did not think 
 her remark much out of the way. The lines at the bot- 
 tom, were " better stuff never trod a midden." She told 
 the time of the day, and several colours. Upon taking 
 off the handkerchief, one of the pieces of gold-beater's 
 skin was loosened from the eye, but they appeared still 
 to be sufficiently covered by the handkerchief. 
 
 June 24th. — The eyes were covered, for the first time, 
 witii sticking plaister, and black silk in the centre of the 
 plaister, so as to allow the edges to adhere to the cheek 
 and nose, and to cover the globe of the eye. 
 
 June 28th. — Was still more accurate in the description 
 of colours, in reading with the fingers, and with the mag- 
 nifying glass. Traced and told several colours of silk, 
 inclosed in a glass bottle. The eyes were covered with 
 sticking plaister, which had been used once before, with 
 a silk handkerchief over the whole, which went round 
 the head, was crossed at the eyes, and was pinned to each 
 side of the head, over the ears. The mode appeared very 
 well adapted to the purpose, because the handkerchief 
 being drawn tight, pressed upon the sticking plaister, so 
 as to keep it close to the eye^^and, when it was taken off, 
 the sticking plaister appeared to adhere very closely to 
 
205 
 
 every part where it was applied. Upon taking off the 
 sticking plaister, the eyes were so firmly closed, that a 
 few seconds passed over hefore she was able to open 
 them. 
 
 June 30th. — I was particularly anxious that all the gen- 
 tlemen who had seen her at Wavertree, and any medical 
 men, or others, interested in an inquiry of this nature, 
 should vi$it her. The pain and uneasiness she suffered 
 at the Wavertree examination, had left an impresion on 
 her mind not to be easily eradicated : she appeared agi- 
 tated when the name of any one of the gentlemen was 
 suddenly announced to her. 
 
 Drs. Brandreth and Trail, and Mr. Bickersteth, ac- 
 companied me to-day. There had been much thunder and 
 lightning in the morning. Her pulse was 108 when we 
 first entered the house, but in a short time it rose to more 
 than 120. The hands and fingers were very cold. The 
 eyes were covered with sticking plaister, as before. Dr. 
 Trail did not wish any handkerchief to be made use of. 
 Strips of sticking plaister were also placed in different 
 directions, but as the muscles of the face,&c. moved, lit- 
 tle crevices were opened in different parts of the sticking 
 plaister, which Mr. Bickersteth employed himself in clo- 
 sing, with the end of a pencil case. She failed in the 
 first instance, and was soon very much agitated. Drops 
 of perspiration rested upon her upper lip, yet she still en- 
 deavoured to feel and name the colours, until at last she 
 became quite exhausted. She, however, did name a few 
 colours, and told the time of the day, but Dr. ' Trail was 
 not satisfied that the eyes were sufficiently covered, al- 
 though, when the sticking plaister was taken off, it ap- 
 peared to me that it had adhered sufficiently to answer 
 every purpose of blindfolding her ; the marks which were 
 
206 
 
 impressed upon the cheek, were very evident, and the 
 eye-lids were closed when the sticking plaister was taken 
 oflf.* 
 
 As usual, when at a loss, she put her hands to her 
 mouth and head, which excited still further suspicion in 
 Dr. Trail that she had some improper motive in doing 
 so. I might observe, that I had mentioned my inten- 
 tion of accompanying Dr. Trail to Miss M'Avoy the 
 day before ; and I have no doubt the agitation originated 
 from Miss M'Avoy having heard that Dr. Trail had de- 
 clared she could positively see.t 
 
 July 31st. — Mr. Cyrus Morral, a respectable merchant, 
 Mr. Pentland, of this town, Mr. Stewart, (his Majesty's 
 Consul at New London,) and Mr. Curwen late of Char- 
 leston u, but now of Liverpool, who had heard of Miss 
 M'Avoy's extraordinary powers requested me to introduce 
 them. We proceeded to St. Paul's Square, and I cover- 
 ed the eyes with sticking plaister and black silk, in so 
 complete a manner, to all appearance, that it was agreed 
 by the gentlemen present, it could not be more secure. 
 A silk handkerchief was then tied over the whole, crossed 
 at the eyes, and pinned above the ears. Several pieces 
 of silk were given to her, all of which she named correct- 
 ly. I had provided twelve square pieces of glass : be- 
 tween each piece 1 inclosed a small portion of silk. 
 
 • See comments on Mr. Sandars's remarks upon this visit, pages 151 and 
 152. 
 
 t In a case of this nature, the most trifling circumstance gives rise to suspi- 
 cion ; but in many instances where she has been observed to do this, it could 
 often have been demonstrated that the object she named, was not within the 
 line of vision; of course, covered as she was, if sight existed, she could not 
 see it. 
 
207 
 
 They were sealed together with sealing Wax, and were 
 given in the following order : — 
 
 1. LightBlue, answered, Light Blue. 
 
 2. Straw colour, „ Light yellow, or straw colour. 
 
 3. Two pieces of glass, "^ r Nothing. The glasses of a 
 
 without silk, j (. greenish colour. 
 
 4. Scarlet „ Scarlet. 
 
 5. Dark ruby, poppy 
 
 } { 
 
 hite^ 
 ide, j 
 
 C 5» 
 
 Ruby, or dark poppy. 
 
 Whitish. 
 
 or mulberry 
 6. Pink, with white 
 spots on one side 
 & v/hite, with pink | 
 spots on the other. . J 
 
 She told the colour of two seals belonging to the watch 
 of one of the gentlemen, Mr. Curwen ; also the colour of 
 the metal 'of his watch, and of the riband attached to it, 
 which was red, with a black border. She told the time 
 of the day exactly to half a minute, in two different wat- 
 ches. I gave her a piece of paper, cut out from the co- 
 vering of Ormerod's History of Cheshire, and she read 
 with her fingers ^'Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Part 
 III. Subscribers copy, No. 200, collated and perfect. 
 
 " Dr. Renwick, 
 
 " Liverpool." 
 
 My address was written, andtheletters which were prin- 
 ted were tolerably large. A copy of one of the laws of 
 the Athenaeum, printed in a very small type, was given 
 to her. She could not read it with her fingers, although 
 I have before seen her read fully as small print. Tlie 
 magnifying glass was put into her hands, and she read 
 two or three lines very correctly. Soon after this expe- 
 riment, she suddenly lost the power. I requested the 
 gentlemen to attend to the taking otF the silk hand- 
 
^8 
 
 kerchief from the eyes. When it was taken off, the stick- 
 ing plaister was seen adhering closely to the skin, in 
 every part, except in the inner canthus of the left eye, 
 where a small pin head might possibly be introduced, 
 but where it was not likely any ray of light could pass, 
 as the handkerchief was tied directly over it, and the 
 light must have fallen downwards, to have reached the 
 eye, through the middle of the handkerchief. After 
 the sticking plaister was removed, the eye-lids appeared 
 quite closed upon the eyes, and it was some time before 
 she could open them. A few colours were given to her 
 a little time after the bandage was taken off, but the power 
 was gone, and she did not tell any of them. 
 
 July 2d. — On the 30th of June, it was proposed that 
 another trial should be made in the presence of Dr. 
 Brandreth and Dr. Trail. The hour appointed was 
 half past one o'clock. Dr. Brandreth was prevented 
 from attending, and Dr. Trail did not arrive during my 
 stay in St. Paul's Square. Dr. Trail has since informed 
 me he was exact to his time. There must have been some 
 mistake in this statement, as I did not leave St. Paul's 
 Square until half past two o'clock. Being anxious for 
 their arrival, I walked in the square to meet them ; and, 
 when it was some time past the hour, I met Mr. M'Cor- 
 quodale, who expressed a wish to see Miss M'Avoy. He 
 followed me into the house, and I was very sorry that 
 Dr. Trail had not been present, as I think from the expe- 
 riments made on this day, he would have been induced 
 to alter his opinion. — The method employed to blindfold 
 her, was Burgundy pitch, spread upon calico. Two 
 pieces, large enough to cover the eye-balls, and to lie 
 flat upon the cheek bones, were prepared, and a piece of 
 black silk placed in the centre, leaving a border suffici- 
 ently large to adhere to the skin. The plaisters were 
 
209 
 
 wanned at the kitchea fire, and applied there to the eye^ 
 by Mr. Thomas, and they adhered apparently as close as 
 possible. The silk handkerchief was firmly bound ov^r 
 them. She went through the former routine of experi- 
 ments. She read tWo address cards ; told the differ- 
 ent colours of the cards, the diie was white, and th^ 
 other a stone colour ; mentioned the time of the day ; 
 the metal of Mr. M'CorquOdale's watch, and she read, 
 through a magnifying glass, several lines in a hand bill. 
 Several silks were piit into a phial bottle, each of which 
 she named correctly. Four locks of hair were separat- 
 ly placed in her hands, and she declared them accurately 
 to be three shades of brown, and one of grey hair. From 
 the two former trials, the skin about the eyes was in» 
 flamed by the application of the sticking plaFster ; and 
 from this, the skin was excoriated ; a sufficient proof 
 th£^t it had adhered very closely^* 
 
 July 8th. — She told me the time of the day by my 
 watch. 1 placed a light rose-coloured leaf between the 
 glass and the dial plate of my watch, and I did the same 
 with a blue flower in Mr. Thomas's watch. The eye- 
 lids were closed by Mr Thomas's fingers : she declared 
 correctly the colour of the leaf in my watch to be a very 
 light pink^ with one part of it yellow, and another part 
 white, and that in Mr. Thomas's watch to be blue. 
 
 * See Mr. Sandars's account of this visit, in his pamphlet, pages 17 and 18, 
 and ray comments on the partial manner in which he has noticed this exami- 
 nation. Indeed, if I had republished his whole pamphlet, as well as the let- 
 ters, I think the public would have seen how unfairly he has entered into the 
 discussion of the facts in the Narrative. The perusal of his own pamphlet would 
 have more effect to condemn hina in the opinion of the unbiassed individual, 
 than any thing I might be able to say upon the subject; and it most conspi- 
 cuously appears, that the last object he had in view was the elucidation of the 
 truth. 
 
 Dd 
 
210 
 
 August 1st.— I found the Rev. Messrs. Thomas, Ed- 
 ward and Vincent Glover at Miss M'Avoy's. Mis? 
 M* Avoy?s powers which had been very deficient for some 
 time past, were again elicited in the presence of these 
 gentlemen, and, having more leisure, than I had, at the 
 time, they prosecuted their inquiries with great persever- 
 ance from the 30th July, to the evening of August 2d. 
 They have favoured me with the result of their experi- 
 ments, which I shall repeat in their own words, after 
 my own detail of facts; 
 
 August 4th. — With her hand placed behind her upon 
 the window, opposite to the communion end of the 
 church, she told the figures of different people passing 
 and sometimes named the colour of the clothes, or any 
 thing that might be on the head, or in the hand, or upon 
 the shoulder, or back of the person. She told also 
 the positions of four different workmen in the Church 
 Yard, one by one, as they sat down ; and then of the 
 four ; she stated orie to be reading a paper brbook ; the 
 Second, to have his hands folded across his breast ; the 
 Hiird, with his hands in his breeches pockets ;^ and the 
 fourth, in some position which I do not recollect. 1 al- 
 most invariably kept my eyes upon Miss M'Avoy's face 
 during this eirperiment, Ti^hilst Mr. Thomas reported to 
 me their situation. 
 
 Aug. st 14th. — ^A large piece of pasteboard was made 
 use of to-day. It was cut so as to admit the nose, and to 
 press upon the cheeks, and formed a sort of g-fenadier's 
 cap, rising above the head. Cotton wool was sewed up- 
 on the edges, where it touched the nose and cheek, both 
 inside and out. Tapes were attached to it in two or three 
 
 ■ .- 1 1 I I ^ 
 
 • The hands were tinder an aprom 
 
211 
 
 different places, which were tied round the back of the 
 head, and a small piece of tape closed it still more over 
 the nose. Applied to my face, and to that of several 
 other gentlemen, we could not see; but if it were put 
 upon the nose of any gentleman which was more promi 
 nent, it did not fit well, and a person thus constructed, 
 might see and describe colours. The same remark might 
 be made upon the goggles ; but when the cross string 
 over the nose is tied firmly, it is scarcely possible for any 
 one to see so as to distinguish any object. At any rate, 
 Miss M'Avoy's eyes were completely covered with it, as 
 by looking from above down to the nose, I could see no 
 object. The cotton, wool, silk, and cloth were given to 
 her, but she did not distinguish any of them. Thursday 
 was very hot and gloomy. The hands and fingers were 
 warm, but there was a clammy moisture upon them, which 
 ^appeared to take a\vay the feeling as much as when they 
 were cold. 
 
 August 15th. — Yesterday, after my visit, she told co- 
 lours, read, &c. very well. This morning, also, she was 
 very correct in all the experiments which were made. 
 A carriage was at the door, with servants in livery. 
 With her face turned sideways from the window, and my 
 hand between the window and the face, she named the 
 colour of the field in the coat of arms upon the pannel 
 of the carriage, at the distance of six feet, and the live- 
 ries of the servants, which were brown, with blue cuffs. 
 She described correctly every colour in a shawl, the 
 ground of which was black, with several bright colours 
 upon the border, and she traced exactly how far the one 
 colour extended, and where another began, as well as 
 the different shades of each colour. 
 
 August 16th.— Several ladies accompanied me to visit 
 
212 
 
 Miss M'Avoy, and she did every thing almost without a 
 single failure. One lady stood in the street, without ap- 
 prising Miss M*Avoy, that she was going thither. The 
 eyes were covered with the goggles. She was desired to 
 feel upon the glass, and to describe the object passing. 
 She answered accurately, that the lady's gown was 
 white; that she had a blue spencer on, and a green um- 
 brella in her hands. She distinguished the colour of a 
 supposed cairngorum stone: the colour she named, but 
 she said it was not a stone, but glass. At the time, a file 
 appeared to me, to act upon it, but these stones have 
 since been shewn at Mr. Harper's shop, in Lord-street, 
 and it is said they are cairngorum stones, 
 
 August 23d. — She was not so expert to-day, and could 
 not name correctly the silks, &c. inclosed between the 
 glass. She told, however, several colours of silks and 
 papers, both with the goggles on, and when the goggles 
 were taken ofiF, and one or two with the fingers pressed 
 upon the eye-lids. Two pieces of sticking plaister, which 
 had been used before, were shewn to the party, as one^of 
 the means used for blindfolding her: they were fixed up- 
 on her eyes, with a handkerchief tied properly over them. 
 Mr Richard Rathbone held his fingers on each side of 
 the nose, so as to prevent any possibility of seeing down- 
 wards. In this situation she told one or more colours to 
 his satisfaction, The younger brother of Mr. Rath- 
 bone, Mr. Adam Hodgson, and several ladies were pre- 
 sent. She told also one or two coloured papers, with 
 the colours on the under side. One piece of paper was 
 purple on the under side, and on the upper it was pink. 
 She was desired to name the upper side, and she said it 
 was pink, but she was not observed even to touch it. She 
 named the underside purple. The circumstance of her 
 naming the pink colour surprised us all. The goggles 
 
213 
 
 were at this time used. Might she not have felt the up- 
 per surface, though we did not observe her to do so?* 
 She also told the time of the day by the watch, and read 
 a few words. She named correctly a blue water colour, 
 which covered the inside o| 4 saucer. 
 
 August ^lih. — Mr. Wilson, of Casterton, in Westmor- 
 land, his son, the vicar of Preston, and the late Mr. Edw. 
 Houghton, visited her to-day. The eyes were covered 
 with the goggles : a white cambrick handkerchief was 
 given by Mr. Wilson ; she said it was white. Mr. E. 
 Houghton gave her a silit handkerchief, which she named 
 yellow and scarlet ; and I gave her one, which she de- 
 clared correctly to be scarlet, yellow, and chocolate. 
 She mentioned the colours of silk, which were placed 
 between five double glasses ; and one which did not con- 
 tain any silk, she declared to be void. She read the di- 
 rection of a letter to the Rev. R. C. Wilson, Preston, Lan- 
 cashire, and the post mark, Rotherani, and traced the 
 figure 9, and named it. She read also a few words, with 
 and without a magnifying glass, in a written abstract 
 from an act of Parliament, which Mr. Wilson had in 
 his possession. She told the time of the day in two 
 different watches, but not exactly to the minute, as I 
 have repeatedly observed her to do. When the fingers 
 were put over the eyes, she told nothing. The piece of 
 pasteboard before named was fixed upon her nose. She 
 named nothing with her fingers, or on the hand, but she 
 told two colours placed upon her under lip. The 
 other colours she could not name but said they were 
 black, and so she said they were after the goggles had 
 been taken off. The hands were warm, but with a 
 
 • 1 have since asked Miss M'Avoy if she felt the card previous to declaring 
 the colour. Her answer was, she did feel it. 
 
214 
 
 clammy moisture upon the fing-ers. With her hand upoa 
 the window, she told the colour of the Rev. R. C. 
 Wilson's coat, and that he had something white in his 
 hand ; but this experiment, however it might be decisive 
 to me, under the impression I have that she is blind, 
 would not be so to any other person, because Miss 
 M'Avoy was uncovered at the moment. 
 
 August 30th. — I appointed Mr. Smith, an ingeniou^s 
 artist and engraver, to meet me in St. Paul's Square, at 
 three o'clock p. m. Before he came, a young lady in 
 the neighbourhood, seeing me go into the house, follow- 
 ed, and requested that she might see the young person 
 who was blind. Miss M'Avoy very kindly allowed the 
 lady to come in : and as soon as the goggles were tied 
 over the face, a few pieces of silk were given to her : she 
 named the colour of each separately ai^d correctly. In 
 giving her another piece the power was gone ; but as 
 her hand was held out sideways upon the table, she 
 pressed occasionally upon the left arm against the edge 
 of the table, which made me suppose this pressure had 
 deadened the sensibility of the nerves of the arm : I 
 therefore gave the colour into the right hand, and she 
 immediately named it. This experiment, which had 
 accidentally occurred, was repeated three or four times 
 with a similar result. She told several colours of silk, 
 inclosed between different square pieces of glass ; the 
 time of the day, to half a minute, in two different watches; 
 the name of the hatmaker in Mr. Smith's hat ; and read 
 part of an advertisem.ent which he brought with him, 
 both with and without the magnifying glass. The young 
 lady threw down a chimney ornament, containing 
 several flowers that were nearly dried up ; she attempted 
 to take them up from the floor, after the goggles were 
 taken off from Mii»s M*Avoy's face. Miss M'Avpy 
 
215 
 
 desired her not to trouble herself. Upon bein^ asked 
 how she knew that any person had attempted to take 
 them up, she immediately said she heard the lady grasp 
 them in her hands. 
 
 September 1st. — Mr. Thompson called upon me to 
 request I would interest myself in obtaining leave to visit 
 Miss M*Avoy, for a lady and gentleman of Halifax, who 
 were strangers, and were to leave town in the morning. 
 Miss M*Avoy agreed to receive them, and three o'clock 
 was the hour appointed. We found Mr. Smith, the en- 
 graver, and his brother in the house. Mr. and Mis?^ 
 Ramsden, Mr. W. Ingram, Mr. Ingram jun. Mr. Thomp- 
 son and I, formed the party. The goggles were tied 
 over the face of Mr. Ingram, jun. who declared, he could 
 not perceive the least ray of light. They were then tied 
 upon Miss M'Avoy. A hat was given to her, with the 
 name of the maker, and figures in the inside of the crown. 
 It was lined with yellow silk. She declared the colour 
 of the silk lining, but could not make out the name in the 
 hat. She read a part of an advertisement upon a card ; 
 a line or two from an old newspaper, with the magnify- 
 ing glass ; and Miss Ramsden's name, upon an address 
 card. She told the colour of silks separately, and be- 
 tween glasses ; the time of the day ; the colour of differ- 
 ent seals ; was doubtful of the colour of an amethyst, 
 calling it poppy, ruby, purple, or lilac. She named up- 
 on a varnished box, the figure of a miser, his green cap, 
 spectacles, coat, inkhorn and pen, and his money. I 
 asked her if she recollected to have had the box, in her 
 hands before? She answered, no. I then told her, j^lr. 
 Gresley, of the Infirmary, had produced it once when htx 
 visited her. She then remembered he had given her this 
 box. She lost the power for a few minutes, and then re- 
 covered it. A day or two ago, she told colours which 
 
216 
 
 were placed upon her feet and upon her legs, but she did 
 not retain the power for more than one or two minutes. 
 
 September 3d. — 1 this morning found Miss M'Avoy 
 very complaining, and looking worse than 1 had seen her 
 for many days. It seems, a large party visited her yes- 
 terday. The appointment was at half-past two o'clock, 
 but the party were admitted at two, before Miss M'Avoy 
 was ready to receive them. She hurried herself in dress- 
 ing, and was very much heated when she went down 
 into the parlour. Dr. Jardiueand several other persons 
 were present. The pasteboard and cotton were prefer- 
 red by one of the gentlemen, who held his fingers over 
 the pasteboard and nose, and placed himself immediately 
 before her, so that it brought on agitation ; she could not 
 tell any colour, and was soon obliged to retire into ano- 
 ther room. Her hands were of a burning hedt; her face 
 was very much flushed ; the pulse, at one period, was 160. 
 It was a considerable time before she became composed. 
 A few of the party went away, and others came in. In 
 a short time, she told colours, read, &c. so as to satisfy 
 those who were present. ^^ 
 
 Mr. Richard Rathbone, Mr. Barclay, their ladies. Miss 
 Reynolds, of Colebrook Dale, and two other young la- 
 dies, were present in the afternoon. The eyes were co- 
 vered with the goggles. She told the colour of two or 
 three sorts of silk, light blue, dark blue, and white, which 
 covered a small pocket book, belonging to Mrs. Barclay; 
 ofawhitepockethandkerchief;of a parasol, green, white, 
 and green and white mixture ; and the colour of the 
 
 • This is the meeting to which Mr. E, Smith alludes, when he speaks of the 
 grimaces of Sir G. B. Collier, and their effect upoa Miss M'Avoy. See page 
 185. 
 
217 
 
 pelisses of the two young ladies, which were blue and 
 white. Named a guinea, a shilling-, a sixpence, and a 
 three shilling piece, placed upon plain glass, and feeling 
 through another glass. She became now agitated ; the 
 feeling left her, and she was not able to tell a single 
 colour. I desired her to go out of the room for a few 
 minutes ; upon returning, she told the time of the day 
 in one watch exactly, in the other, not within two or 
 three minutes, but she afterwards corrected herself. 
 
 She told the following liquids in phials :— 
 
 Blue, answered, Blue. 
 
 Purple, „ Purple. 
 
 Red, ,, Red. 
 
 Orange, 5? Orange. 
 
 Black, „ Black. 
 
 Water, „ Colourless, or water. 
 
 Spirit of Wine, „ Ditto.* 
 
 Green, „ Green. 
 
 She could not read any thing, and was obliged to have the 
 goggles taken off two or "three times. She told several 
 stones correctly. Mr. Barclay tried the goggles on, and by 
 working the muscles of his face in different directions, 
 he managed to tell the time of the day by a watch ; but 
 his nose was very prominent, and not at all similar to that 
 of Miss M'Avoy ; had the covering extended alittle more 
 down to the point of the nose, and been tied a little 
 tighter, it is probable he could not have seen. I must ob- 
 serve, that the cotton had been so padded down by fre- 
 quent use, that there appeared an opening under the cot- 
 
 • But not the same; she said it was colder. The water had been put into 
 the bottle some time before, and the spirit of wine had been just taken out from 
 a large bottle at the druggist's. She had on the 17th of January, declared the 
 spirit of wine to be warmer. Might not this be explainsd by the difference of 
 temperature, as the bottle of water had been in my wai»tcoatj and th« spirit of 
 wiae in my coat pocket? 
 
 Ee 
 
218 
 
 ion, above the nostrils, and she appeared to look side- 
 ways, during the latter experiments ; but, I have reason 
 to think, this mode of appearing to look at the object, 
 arises more from habit than from any design. Mr. Barclay 
 vras not quite satisfied with respect to the covering-, and 
 it was very natural this should be the case, when he could 
 himself see through it. She afterwards told a purple 
 flower behind her, a light yellow, a marygold, and a 
 small pincushion of red cloth, by feeling with her hand 
 under a white handkerchief, lying upon her knee. She 
 was extremely ill, during the greater part of this exami- 
 nation. She returned a cornelian heart, which Mr. 
 Rathbone had left when he visited her before, and seem- 
 ed to give it to him without any doubt of his person. Mr. 
 Rathbone was low, and Mr. Barclay tall in stature. The 
 solar spectrum was thrown upon her hands, &c. but she 
 felt nothing ; the sun, which shone upon her head, seemed 
 to affect her by its heat* 
 
 September 8th. — Uncovered, she could not name co- 
 lours to-day with her fingers. Covered with the gog- 
 gles, she named a straw coloured silk, placed upon her 
 under lip. In going out. Dr. Freckleton and Mr. Pea- 
 cock, surgeon, met us, and wished to have seen Miss 
 M*Avoyj but, being so very ill, it was thought advisable 
 for them to defer their visit to another opportunity. Mr. 
 Thomas observed however, that they might as well see 
 her, as it would be an introduction, and might induce 
 the family to receive them at a future time. They went, 
 in, tried on the goggles, and were satisfied they could 
 not see with them* Miss M'Avoy was induced to put 
 them on, and Mr. Peacock gave her his watch, she told 
 the name of the metal, which was; silver, and the time of 
 the day. She did the same to Dr. Freckleton's, which 
 was gold. Named the time of the day, which was a few 
 
219 
 
 minutes later in the one watch than in the other. Was 
 asked to name how many fingers were upon the watch, 
 but in attempting to do so, she found the power was 
 gone. 
 
 September 11th. — Mr. Wilbraham Egerton, of Tatton, 
 Cheshire, his lady and son, Mr. Perry, Mr. Gresley, two 
 of his friends, a gentleman and lady, and Mr. Beunet, an 
 out pupil of the Infirmary, were present. The goggles 
 were tried by Mr. Egerton, who was satisfied with the 
 mode of blindfolding her. Mrs. Egerton gave her a drab 
 coloured silk shawl, with a flowered border of different 
 colours, white, green, red, yellow, &c. which she de- 
 scribed with great exactitude. She told the time of the 
 day in three different watches, which were not alike in 
 time, and the colour of two, a gold and a silver hunting- 
 watch. Of this latter, she said it was silver on both sides, 
 but there was no glass as in the other watch. She de- 
 scribed the colours of silk, between four pair of glasses, 
 sealed with red wax ; and she detected the one which 
 was empty. She read a few words of a direction of a let- 
 ter, but did not make out the whole, as it was not very 
 easy to decypher the writing. She read with the convex 
 glass three names upon a card. She told the colour of 
 Mr. Egerton's horses with her hand upon the window 
 glass; that the one was a light and the other a darker 
 brown ; that a lady was seated in the curricle, and, that 
 there was something red near her. She occasionaly lost 
 the power, but soon recovered it again, upon the gog- 
 gles being taken off, and being allowed to go into the next 
 room to cool herself. 
 
 September 12th.— The Rev. John Yates, the Rev. 
 Thomas Belsham, and the two Misses Yates, were ad- 
 mitted this morning. I was present, but not being pre- 
 
220 
 
 pared with any colours for the purpose of examination, 
 I went out to procure some. Upon my return, Dr. 
 Taylor, late of Bolton, and another gentleman, seeing- 
 the Rev. J. Yates's carriage at the door, had gone into 
 the house. She read very uncertainly a few words, and 
 told the time of the day in a watch. She named again 
 the time of the day in two other watches, which were 
 not exactly alike. I gave into her hands several pieces 
 of silk, which she described correctly, and a few wa- 
 fers of rather uncertain hues, which she did not make out 
 well. A seal was given to her, but she could not name 
 the colour. Upon the whole, her powers were deficient, 
 in comparison, to what they sometimes are.^ 
 
 September 13th. — Dr. Brandreth, the Rev. James 
 Hornby, Rector of Winwick, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Luke, 
 Mr. Evans, and several other persons, were present at 
 this examination. The heat of Miss M'Avoy's hands was 
 about 90 degrees of Fahrenheit. She told different co- 
 loured silky, very correctly ; the double glasses containing 
 silks, and one piece of cotton with red stripes, which 
 had been given to her more than once before. She read 
 several lines, in a correct manner, from a volume of the 
 Rev. Mr. Murphy's sermons, which had been lately pre_ 
 sented to her by the author,both with and without the mag- 
 nifying glass. She endeavoured to read a part of a letter, 
 which the Rev. J. Hornby placed in her hands; but she 
 did not do it with that certainty I have often observed. 
 She told to whom the face belonged of an engraved por- 
 trait, which I am informed she had never had in her 
 hands before, by feeling it all over with her fingers. It 
 was the portrait of the late Rev. William Tarleton, who 
 
 • Some observations are made upon this visit, by Dr. Taylor, which I have 
 already commented upon. See pages 182 and 183. 
 
221 
 
 lost his life in consequence of a fever, which he is said to 
 have caught during a laborious attendance upon the sick 
 poor belonging to the Roman Catholic persuasion. Dr. 
 Jardine came in a little before this period, and informed 
 us she had named him, when placed near the rails of the 
 church-yard, with her fingers upon the window glass. '^ 
 Dr. Brandreth gave her a varnished snuff box, upon 
 which there was the picture of an old man. She said it 
 was an old man, but she did not make it out as well as 
 usual. Through a plain glass she felt the features of a 
 gentleman, the Rev. James Hornby, who had spectacles 
 on, reflected from a common mirror, and of Mr. Tho- 
 mas, whose name she mentioned. She suddenly said the 
 power was gone. She also lost the power several times 
 before, and she did nothing when the pasteboard, with 
 cotton wool, was placed upon her nose in a horizontal 
 direction from the nose. She could not tell the colour 
 of two seals, which were given to her by Dr. Brandreth, 
 but she declared they were both stones. She told one 
 colour, blue, behind her. The hands were both mode- 
 rate as to temperature, except at the latter end of the 
 examination, when they became more heated and clam- 
 my. She told nothing with her hands placed upon the 
 window. The eyes were covered with the goggles. 
 
 Sept. 16th. Three ladies were present. The goggles were 
 tied over the eyes. She told the time of the day in three 
 difiPerent watches exactly. She named the colours of dif- 
 ferent silks, and she told four with a handkerchief thrown 
 over the head, between her hand and the silks. The last 
 colour she told in this way she said was blue, and, in an 
 
 * She had never seen Dr. Jardine before her illnes?, (when she could see) 
 but he had frequently visited her since. 
 
S22 
 
 instant after, it was black, and then, the power was gone. 
 The colour of the silk was blue. 
 
 September 16th. — I saw her to-day with a gentleman of 
 the profession. She told the time of the day upon two 
 watches ; three or four silks, which I gave her, and one 
 silk taken from the inside of the case of the gentleman's 
 watch ; the nature of the metal, the colour of the seals, 
 &c. and read a single line in a book. The goggles were 
 used, as they were in i\ie afternoon, when I am informed 
 Lord Stanley the Rev. James Hornby, of Winwick, Cap- 
 tain Hornby, and Mr. Thomas were present. I under- 
 stand they expressed their satisfaction at the powers she 
 exhibited. 
 
 September I7th. — Mr. and Mrs. Freme, Mrs. M'Allis* 
 ter, the late Rev. Mr. Goodier, the Miss Dixons, the 
 late Mr. Thomas Davies, Mr. Robert Clay, and several 
 other persons were present. The weather being very 
 warm, and the goggles heating her very much, I pro- 
 posed she should try the black velvet and gold- 
 beater's skin. It was prepared by one of the ladies, Miss 
 Dixon, by sewing two pieces of sufficient size upon white 
 Persian silk, which being wetted with a little water, was 
 affixed upon the eyes very closely. The black velvet, 
 and gold beater's skin, as before mentioned, was also 
 wetted, and applied over the former; and, over all, a 
 silk handkerchief was tied, until the gold beater's skin 
 was dried so as to adhere firmly upon the eyes and sur- 
 r( unding parts. She named the colour of different 
 silks, of wafers, and of seals. She was mistaken in an 
 ornament, consistinjr of small green and red stojjes, in 
 imitation of emeralds and rubies, which she said were 
 not glass, but she told the colour of each accurately, 
 except one, although irregularly intermixed. She after- 
 
223 
 
 wards said they were glass. She declared the colour of 
 two amethysts to be a darker and paler lilac. The paler 
 she said was set round with pearls, and was a real stone : 
 the other, which was a seal, was not real, but glass. 
 She told the colour of silks contained in a glass bottle : 
 she named the time of the day in different watches ; she 
 read a line and a half in the Rev. Mr. Murphy's Ser- 
 mons, without the glass, and four lines and a half in a 
 small pamphlet which one of the gentlemen brought with 
 him, with the magnifying glass. She could not tell the 
 time of the day by feeling through the green glass, plac- 
 ed ov^er the glass of the watch, nor could she name a 
 colour, placed below the first piece of plain glass, 
 whilst she held the second, and passed her fingers over 
 it as usual. ^ With a mirror upon her knee, and feeling 
 through the plain glass, she mentioned the general ap- 
 pearance, reflected, of a gentleman looking into the glass 
 with spectacles, and also noticed a watch Which I placed 
 over the mirror. Miss M'Avoy did not to-day possess 
 the power of distinguishing persons in the street, by the 
 .•application of the hand to the window. When the gold- 
 beater's skin, &c. were taken off, it was evident the eye- 
 lids were completely closed, and that the gold beater's 
 skin adhered to every part surrounding the eyes. 
 
 September 20th. — Several persons came in whilst I 
 was in the house, and Miss M'Avoy allowed the goggles 
 to be tied over her eyes. She told the time of the day in 
 
 • it is curious she was not able to read a letter, or distinguish a colour when 
 placed between two plain glasses, separated from each other, because the sepa- 
 ration of the glasses would not prevent her from discerning the object, if she 
 really could see. Again when the glasses lay flat upon each other, and the si- 
 tuation of the object was not altered by the power of refraction she could 
 read and name colours through them, although she observed the object was not 
 so distinct as through only one glass. 
 
224 
 
 three different watches, and the colour of different silks. 
 She read two or three lines in different books, one of 
 which belonged to a young lady who was present, very 
 correctly. I tried her with the glass over her head, but 
 she could not distinguish any object through it. 
 
 September 23d. — Several persons Were present in the 
 morning, to whom she named colours ; told the time of 
 the day, &c. One gentleman gave her a seal, which she 
 said was red : upon being asked whether it was stone or 
 glass, she hesitated for a few moments, and then said it 
 did not appear to her to be either. It was a seal of 
 Tesses composition.-'^ He also gave her a Labrador 
 stone, the colour of which, in some instances, she de- 
 scribed correctly to our view ; in others, she seemed to 
 be incorrect. Mr. -and Mrs. Earle, Mr. Wm. Earle, and 
 the young ladies of the family, the Rev. John Yates, 
 Mr. Adam Hodgson, and many other gentlemen and 
 ladies were present in the afternoon. The eyes were 
 covered with two pieces of gold beater's skin ; the one 
 sewed upon crape, and the other upon black silk ; she 
 read, told colours, the time of the day, the colour of 
 seals, &c. with considerable correctness, and apparently 
 to the satisfaction of the party. She felt the hair of two 
 or three gentlemen, but did notname the colour correctly. 
 The party appeared satisfied that the covering was suffi- 
 cient for the purpose of blindfolding herf. 
 
 * Miss M'Avoy has said the real stones or gems, feel harder and more solid ; 
 the glass softer; and this composition stone softer than glass ; yet the difference 
 was not perceptible to a common observer, when the colour was the same ; nor 
 isit likely she could have obtained the knowledge of a lapidary, to have enabled 
 her to state the difference between each. 
 
 t See Mr. Roster's Letter in the Appendix, and my observations wpon it, 
 pages 173 and 174. 
 
225 
 
 September 24th. — Eight o'clock, p. M. — Mr. Thomas 
 called upon me to say there had been a large party at 
 Mr. Hughes's early in the afternoon, and that Miss 
 M'Avoy had been thrown into a very unpleasant state 
 by the intrusion of a gentleman,'^ who, upon Mr. Thomas 
 placing upon tlie eyes the first covering above described, 
 went down upon his knees and looking up to Miss 
 M*Avoy, declared, before it was sufficiently dried, that 
 the eye-lids were open, and that she could see. This 
 observation, it seems, led to others, which were unplea- 
 sant to Miss M*Avoy and to the party, and she was 
 thrown into that state of confusion which might be 
 naturally expected from such a charge. If the gentle- 
 man had wished to defeat the expectations of the party, 
 he could not have taken a more effectual method, as 
 every thing which agitates her, immediately destroys the 
 power. I have since seen Mr. Nairn, a respectable sur- 
 geon, in Union-street, who was present on the same 
 day, and he assures me, that in the presence of the Rev. 
 James Barr, minister of the Scotch Church in this town, 
 and Mr. M^Culloch, jun. with her eyes covered with the 
 gold beater's skin. Miss M'Avoy told the time of the 
 day in a watch, one or more colours, and satisfied them 
 completely, she was blindfolded, so as to prevent her 
 from seeing, if she even possessed the power of vision. 
 
 September 25th — Dr. Brandreth, the Rev. James and 
 George Hornby, the Hon. Edward Stanley, and a party, 
 from Knowsley, visited Miss M'Avoy. Mr. Thomas and 
 I were present. The eyes were covered with gold beat- 
 er's skin, sewed slightly upon a little crape, sufficiently 
 large to cover the eye-ball, and to press down the eye- 
 
 • I understand this was the only visit Mr. Sandars ever paid Miss M'Avoy. 
 For his own account of it, I refer the reader to lus pamphlet. 
 
 Ff 
 
S26 
 
 lid. After they had remained for some time, it was allow- 
 ed by the persons present that the eye-lids were properly 
 closed. Another piece of gold beater's skin was sewed 
 upon a larger piece of black silk, wetted by a small 
 sponge, dipped in water, and applied over the first piece. 
 In a little time also, this application appeared to adhere 
 firmly over the eyes, and to rest upon the upper part of 
 the cheek. Several pieces of silk were given to her ; she 
 named the colour of each correctly. The colours of the 
 pieces of silk, inclosed between two glasses, and sealed 
 with red wax, were declared. She told the colour of se- 
 veral liquids contained in phial bottles. I have seen her 
 more correct than in this experiment, as she said two bot- 
 tles contained colours different from what they really 
 were. She pointed out the various colours of silks con- 
 tained in a small phial bottle. She traced the lines, and 
 declared the figures printed on a piece of calico, which 
 had, a little before, been brought in from one of the 
 shops, and she told also, generally, the diiferent colours 
 of the print. - She named the time of day, in different 
 \ratches, exactly ; the colour of seals ; and she read some 
 lines both with and without the magnifying glass. She 
 told a guinea, a shilling, and a sixpence, placed upon one 
 glass, through another plain glass ; but an eighteen penny 
 piece, she could describe only as larger than a shilling. 
 If I mistake not, she said afterwards " bank token was 
 marked upon it," the reverse side being uppermost. She 
 described through the plain glass, the persons of two 
 gentlemen, reflected from a mirror. She thought one 
 of the gentlemen was Mr. Hornby, whose reflected image 
 she had described before in a similar manner. Mr. 
 George Hornby, who had put on his brother's specta- 
 cles, is said to bear a strong resemblance to him. Mr. 
 Hornby wears powder ; but she said the gentleman whom 
 she perceived, had dark hair. She declared that a hand 
 
227 
 
 was raised up to his face, and then, that he had a glass 
 in his hand. She could not read with a concave gla«9S at 
 a short distance ; but when it was placed upon the book, 
 she read two or three words. She lost the power occa- 
 sionally, and went into the back room. Dr. Brandreth, 
 Mr. George Hornby, and I, followed her. With her 
 hands upon her back, she could not name the colour of 
 one or two pieces which were put into her hands ; but 
 she told correctly three colours, with one hand placed 
 rather sideways than behind her. She was still covered 
 with the gold beaters skin. Mr. Hornby was requested 
 to take oiF the covering, and he, as well as the rest of the 
 party, had no doubt of her being perfectly blindfolded, 
 and that she could not have seen, even if her eyes had 
 been perfect. 
 
 September 27th. — The two Miss Alansons, of Waver- 
 tree, and Miss Burrow, of Or mskirk, were present. Miss 
 M'Avoy was covered with the goggles. She told the co- 
 tour of several silks; and of the silks contained between 
 the ghisses. As a party from Knowsley was expected, 
 I thought it better to defer the trial of any more experi- 
 ments until their arrival. It happened, however, that 
 they did not come, and I proceeded to fix the gold beat- 
 er's skin upon the eyes. The pieces with crape and gold 
 beater's skin were first applied, after closing the eyelids; 
 and afterwards the black silk and gold beater's skin. — 
 They were allowed a sufficient time to dry and adhere to 
 the skin. She told the time of the day in a watch, ex- 
 actly to a minute. She named two pieces of money 
 placed upon a glass, feeling through another piece of 
 glass. She told the reflected appearance of one of the 
 ladies, from a mirror, through a plain glass, with great 
 correctness; and, when the lady had put on her face a 
 pair of spectacles, and looked into the glass^ Miss 
 
^^ 
 
 M*Avoy immediately observed the lady had put on the 
 spectacles. She read several lines both with and without 
 glasses, in two different books. The coverings were 
 now taken off, which had adhered firmly to the skin ; 
 the eyelids appeared to be perfectly closed, and it was 
 some time before she could open them, from being, as it 
 were, glued together.* 
 
 September 29th. — I was requested to meet Dr. Mac- 
 kenzie, of the Medical Staff, this morning about the usual 
 time of my visiting Miss M*Avoy. I found him, accom- 
 panied by three ladies. Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Joseph 
 Brandreth, were also present. 
 
 She went through the different trials to the entire sa- 
 tisfaction of the parties who were present. The gold 
 beater's skin was used ; the first piece was sewed upon 
 mustin; and after this was applied and allowed to be suf- 
 ficiently dried, another piece of gold beater's skin, which 
 had been sewed upon black velvet, was wetted and ap- 
 plied over the first piece. It adhered to the upper part 
 of the cheek bone. When these were taken off, Dr. 
 Mackenzie and Mr. Brandreth declared their convic- 
 tion of Miss M'Avoy having been blindfolded effectually. 
 I requested Mr. Brandreth again to try the effects of the 
 belladonna, rubbed with a camel hair pencil upon the 
 upper eyelid. The strong solution which had been made 
 use of before, for a similar experiment, was now used. 
 The pupils did not appear to be more dilated, or, at least, 
 in no material degree, after it had remained on the up- 
 
 * Mr. Sandars has endeavoured to throw ridicule upon the eyelids being, as 
 it were, glued together, but 1 have no doubt my assertion will be corro- 
 borated by other individuals. Indeed, if 1 mistake not, the young lady alluded 
 to, in page 6, of the continuation of the Case, felt the inconvenience of th« 
 gold beater's skin from a similar cause* 
 
229 
 
 per eyelid for a considerable time; and, it seemed to be 
 their joint opinion, that Miss M'Avoy was blind, and the 
 blindness was occasioned by the defect of the optic 
 nerve.* 
 
 Mr. Brooke of the Custom-house called upon me, to 
 request I would obtain permission for Mr. Leicester, one 
 of the Welsh Judges, Mr. Goodbank, and himself, to vi- 
 sit Miss M'Avoy. The hour appointed was half-past two 
 in the afternoon. I met Mr. Davenport, an old friend, 
 who carries on an extensive pottery and glass manufac- 
 tory in Staffordshire, as I was going to St. Paul's Square, 
 and requested him to accompany me. When we arrived, 
 we found the gentlemen above-named already there, and 
 Dr. Jardine also made one of the party. The eyes were, 
 after a little time, covered with the gold beater's skin, 
 sewed upon muslin, and applied as before. After hav- 
 ing been allowed to remain for a few minutes, that they 
 migtit be completely dried, the second application of 
 gold beater's skin and black velvet was made over the 
 former covering. The gentlemen allowed the mode 
 of blindfolding was complete. Three or four silks were 
 given to her, which she named correctly. Three silk hand- 
 kerchiefs were separately given to her. The first was 
 yellow and red, with another dark colour, which she said 
 was yellow, red, and brown ; but I am not certain whe- 
 ther the colour were black, or a dark green, or brown. — 
 The second was red, yellow, and chocolate; the third 
 was red and white, which were correctly named. She 
 told a straw colour inclosed between two glasses. Three 
 watches were given to her: she told the time of the day 
 in all of them correctly, except in Mr. Leicester's watch, 
 when she named the time of the day as fifteen minutes 
 
 * See Dr. Mackenzie's Letter in the Appendix. 
 
230 
 
 past three ; but her finger was upon the second hand at 
 the moment, which pointed at fifteen minutes past three. 
 Upon being told she had mistaken the finger, she found 
 out where the other pointed, and stated the time cor- 
 rectly. In this watch, also, the hour, minute, and second 
 hands were made of steel. Upon being asked of what 
 metal they were composed, she answered steel. She 
 named the colour of the metal of the watch: she read se- 
 veral lines, both with and without the magnifying glass : 
 she named the colour of two or three seals, and of three 
 or four liquids contained in phials. She appeared to dis- 
 tinguish three different times, spirits of wine from wa- 
 ter.=* The gentlemen then attended to the taking off 
 the coverings, and from the mode in which the lower 
 covering appeared to adhere, and to press upon the f3ye- 
 lids, which appeared through the muslin to be entirely 
 closed, independent of the other covering of black velvet 
 and gold beater's skin, not the slightest doubt existed in 
 their minds of the truth of the statement they had heard 
 and seen. 
 
 September 30th.— Mr. Bootle Wilbraham, and a part 
 of his family from Latham, Mr. and Mrs. Pilkington of 
 Bolton, Mr. and Mrs. Gaskell, Mr. Lyall, Drs. Brand- 
 reth and Jardine, Mr. Willis Earle and daughter, Miss 
 Lutyens, Mr. Willis Earle, jun. Mr. Thomas Hodgson, 
 Mr. Martin, Mr. Josiah Williamson, Mr. French, and 
 several other gentlemen and ladies were present. Miss 
 M'Avoy was covered exactly the same as yesterday, 
 with the gold beater's skin, muslin, and velvet. The 
 mode of blindfolding her was examined with minute 
 
 • There was a little difference in the size of the bottle?, but she did not ap- 
 pear to judge from the form of the bottles, as the bottle was held about the mid» 
 die, and was never examined as to the length. 
 
231 
 
 attention, and every person appeared satisfied that the 
 coverings were sufficient for the purpose.* A few silks 
 were given to her, which she named correctly. She then 
 told the colours upon a piece of variegated marble ; 
 but she did not name them quite correctly. She de- 
 clared the red, the whitish, but not any other colour 
 correctly. A very dark green colour she said was brown 
 or black. She told the time of the day in three or four 
 watches to half a minute, and she affected a sort of in- 
 dignant pleasantry at Dr. Brandreth having attempted 
 to deceive her, by putting white paper over the dial 
 plate of his watch, which she immediately detected. 
 She read several lines in two books, both with and with- 
 out the magnifying glass, generally with correetuej^s, 
 and also in a printed paper given to her by Mr. J. Wil- 
 liamson. She told through a plain glass a guinea, two se- 
 parate shillings of the new coinage, with their superficial 
 bearings, and two plain shillings of the old coinage. la 
 the one she observed that it was crooked, and in the 
 other that there was a dark line, which originated from 
 the upper part of the head not being entirely defaced, 
 Anothejr guinea, which was placed upon the left side of 
 the others, she did not observe. She told the reflected 
 image of a gentleman's (Mr. Lyall) coat and hat; she 
 described his eyes to be shut, and then to be open again, 
 and that he had brown hair. A lady was placed ap- 
 parently in a situation to be reflected from the mirror, 
 but I presume it could not be so, as Miss M'Avoy only 
 described the riband of the chip bonnet she wore, which 
 was so large and conspicuous, that her figure was scarce- 
 ly perceptible in the line of reflection. She told the 
 colour of two stones in two rings which wore given to 
 
 • Except Mr. Martin, who at first agreed, but afterwards dissented from 
 tlie general opinion. 
 
232 
 
 tier. She named correctly three or four wafers, which 
 Mr. Wilbraham gave me to present to her. 
 
 Mrs. Gaskell presented to her a book, when Miss 
 M*Avoy retired, being oppressed with heat, as there 
 was a great number of persons in the room, which she 
 named correctly, when covered with the goggles, to be 
 of a reddish hue. She declared the same of this book 
 when placed in such a situation as to be reflected from 
 the mirror. After these experiments, Drs. Brandreth, 
 Jardine, and 1 examined the eyes. The left pupil ap- 
 peared at least six times more dilated than the right, 
 which has not been usually the case, and it was almost 
 of a pentagonal form. Could the belladonna applied 
 yesterday have produced this effect? There seemed to 
 be no contractile power in the pupil of either eye. 
 
 October 1st. — Mr. Hughes advertised his intention 
 of admitting no parties to visit his step-daughter in future, 
 as his family affairs, the comfort of his wife and of himself, 
 independent of the danger, accruing to Miss M'Avoy 
 from these every-day examinations, of injuringher health, 
 were at stake. It was understood, however, that it might 
 be possible to gain entrance to-day, as permission had 
 been granted to a few friends of Mr. Thomas to visit Miss 
 M'Avoy. The room was almost inundated with ladies 
 and gentlemen. Amongst the persons present, I ob- 
 served Mr. Wolsely, who introduced me to his friend 
 the Rev. Dr. Mason, of New York, Mrs. Wolsely, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Samuel Hope, Dr. Freckleton, Mr. Peacock, 
 Mr. J. Myers and his sisters, Mr. J. Baines, Mr. J. Smith, 
 and several other individuals whom I did not know. — 
 The late mode of covering the eyes with gold beater's 
 skin was adopted. The velvet made use of was thinner 
 than that which had been used before, being silk velvet 
 
233 
 
 This, however, was of little consequence, as the first co- 
 vering had before been placed over the eyelids when 
 closed down. 
 
 Several colours of silks, liquids, and papers, were gi- 
 ven to her, which she told generally correctly. A bottle 
 of water, and one of spirits of wine, of equal weight, were 
 placed one after the other in her hand ; but 1 am not 
 certain whether she named them correctly in the first in- 
 stance, as I was not sufficiently guarded to see which was 
 the water and which the spirits of wine, before I placed 
 them in her hand. She told the colour of the paper 
 which covered them at the top, as I had received them 
 this morning from Mr. Robert Clay, in Ranelagh-street. 
 I afterwards gave one into each hand, and she declared 
 which phial contained the water, and which the spirits 
 of wine. Upon examining them, I found she was correct 
 In her statement. Different watches were given to her, 
 and she named the time of the day exactly, the colour 
 of the metal, and the hands. Dr. Mason altered the 
 time of the day in his watch, and it was placed in a line 
 with her eyes, and she told the time of the day, but was 
 not able to tell the colour of the hands. She did not 
 name a colour under a hat, which Dr. Mason gave her, 
 nor did she tell the colour of the lining. She named the 
 colours tolerably correct in two or three shawls ; but 
 she once asked if a green shawl were black ; and, in de- 
 scribing the shade of the green, she said it was a bot- 
 tle green, but it was a much lighter green. The reflect- 
 ed image of Dr Freckleton, from a mirror, she named 
 through a plain glass, as a gentleman of pleasing face and 
 light hair. A pair of spectacles were put upon his face 
 which she detected, and she told when they were taken 
 oflT. She named the colour of the Claude Lorraine 
 jjlasses incorrectly. Miss M'Avoy read a word here and 
 
234 
 
 there, but not in the correct manner I have observed her 
 to do. When the gold beater's skin was taken oJBf, Dr. 
 Mason, Dr. Freckleton, and other persons expressed 
 themselves, as if they thought it must have blindfolded 
 her. The skin of the cheek had been drawn out as it 
 was taken off, and the eyelids appeared perfectly closed. 
 A large party remained in the back room after I left the 
 bouse, and she went through a variety of experiments 
 much more correctly than before. She told the bottles 
 which contained spirit of wine and water exactly two or 
 three times. She declared the face of a gentleman, re- 
 flected through the plain glass from the mirror, to be the 
 same gentleman whom she had named before. 
 
 Dr. Freckleton mentioned the circumstance of Miss 
 M'Avoy taking a pair of scissars from her mother, when 
 offered to her, as if she could see ; and he also said, that 
 in going to take some papers from the chimney piece 
 he was afraid she would have thrown down two bottles 
 be had placed there, and of which she was not aware, if 
 he had not prevented her. 
 
 If 1 were called upon to decide in any other case, I should certainly think 
 the evidence I have adduced as positive as it well could be, but the public vrill 
 judge whetherit be so or not. The names 1 have mentioned aremost of them well 
 knoAvn in Liverpool, and the neighbourhood ; but they form only a very small 
 part of the number which visited her from different parts of the country — 
 Many whom I had never seen gave their own report of her powers, audit was 
 from this report the public at a distance was informed of them, long before I 
 published the Narrative. It is somewhat extraordinary that the assertion of a 
 fewindividuals should have had such influence against the evidence of so many 
 witnesses of the facts ; but it is probable the stronger evidence was not examined 
 so attentively as the 'weaker ; because the weaker had the aid of prejudice, 
 foujjded upon certain established theories, to support it. It was urged, also, 
 with a degree of violence not always indicative of the truth. 1 f the opponents 
 of Miss M'Avoy had gone more coolly and deliberately into tlie examination, 
 they would have avoided the censure which Statius has passed upon similar 
 characters, that 
 
 " I^Ial- cuncta ministrat 
 
 " Impetus." 
 
g35 
 
 THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT 
 
 Is transcribed from the 
 
 i^(©5?igg (s>w ^mm sBis^Q m^ (mL(s>wmm^ 
 
 " Liverpool, July 30th, 1817, eight o'clock, p. m.— 
 Waited on Miss M'Avoy ; found her very unwell, ex- 
 pecting her fits to come on every minute : was unable 
 to distinguish any colours ; declared that I was taller 
 than my brother; perceived this when we passed her in 
 the lobby ; told me, when I passed, whether I had my 
 hat on or not. 
 
 *' July 31st, eleven a. 31. — Found Miss M*Avoy in 
 good spirits ; had passed the night in almost one conti- 
 nued fit. Having completely blin(^folded her, we made 
 the following experiments : — • 
 
 " Experiment L — Presented six different coloured 
 wafers, pasted between two plates of common window 
 glass. She first laid her fingers on the red wafer, and 
 named it. Does it not appear like a piece of red cloth ? 
 She answered, no, I think it is a wafer, The six wafers 
 
236 
 
 she named as follows : — dark ruby, red, black, green, 
 stone colour, or light drab, pea green. She pointed out 
 unasked, the cracks, openings, and deficiencies of the 
 wafers. She said the glass was white. 
 
 '* Experunent II. — She traced the outline of a very 
 irregular figure, formed by squeezing the portions of 
 two wafers, one black, the other red, between two plates 
 of glass. 
 
 " Experiment III — The seven prismatic colours being 
 painted on a card, in water colours, she gave them the 
 following names:— scarlet, buff, yellow, green, light 
 blue, dark blue, or purple lilac. 
 
 " Experiment IV. — The red and orange rays of the 
 solar spectrum being thrown by a prism upon her hand, 
 she said it appeared as gold. All the colours being 
 thrown on the back of her hand, she distinctly described 
 the different colours on the different parts of her hand. 
 She marked the moments when the colours became faint, 
 and again vivid, by the occasional passage of a cloud, 
 without being desired to do so. The prismatic colours 
 have afforded her the greatest pleasure which she has 
 experienced since her blindness. Never saw a prism in 
 her life. She felt the spectrum warm. The violet rays 
 were the least pleasant.^ 
 
 " Experiment V. — She perceived the coloured rings 
 formed by pressing together two polished plates of glass. 
 Feels them at the edge of her fingers flying before them. 
 
 • She observed that the red rays appeared warmer and more pleasant than 
 the violet; which, opinion coincides with that of Dr. Herschell, who proved 
 the great difference of heat between the different prismatic rays. 
 
237 
 
 Feels the reflected rays much better than the traoflh 
 mitted: could just perceive the latter. 
 
 " Experiment VI.— The prism being put into her 
 hand, she declared it was white glass ; but on turning it, 
 she immediately said, * No, it is not, it is coloured, it has 
 colours in it ;' and she traced what she called stripes of 
 colours, ribands, one coloured stripe above another. 
 Could discover no colours on that side of the prism on 
 which the direct rays of the light fell. 
 
 " Experiment VII. — Several attempts were made to 
 discover colours in the dark, by presenting different 
 coloured objects to her hands, concealed under a pillow. 
 She always failed ; every thing appeared black. On one 
 occasion she said a green card was yellow. 
 
 ** Experiment VIII. — She read a line or two in small 
 print, by feeling the letters. Read through a convex 
 lens at the distance of nine inches ; the focal length of 
 the lens was fourteen inches.* Reads much easier 
 through this lens than without ; the letters appear lar- 
 ger, and as if they were printed on the glass. When a 
 hand was interposed between the lens and the book, she 
 immediately perceived it: a penknife was laid on the 
 line which she was reading, and she named it. 
 
 " Experiment IX. — A concave lens was put into her 
 hand ; she tried to read at the distance of seven or eight 
 inches ; said all the letters are confused ; she moved 
 
 • The increased power of distinguishing minute oTyects through a convex 
 glass is curious, because she does not hold the glass within the focus of the 
 €ye, but as it were within the focus of the point of the finger, which would 
 appear in this case, to serve the purpose of the eye. 
 
238 
 
 the lens gradually towards the paper, and observed 
 (he letters were very small ; could not read easily until 
 the lens was laid on the paper. 
 
 " Experiment X.— When she touched a plane glass 
 mirror, could not perceive any rejBected image, but 
 that of her own fingers. I feel, she says, the picture of 
 my own fingers. 
 
 ** Experiment XI. — Distinguished by the feel, the dif- 
 ference between polished glass and cairngorum chrys- 
 tal ; between silver, steel, gold, and brass : gold and silver 
 have the finest feel. The silver of a watch case felt finer 
 than ^e gold of the seal. She distinguished between 
 ivory, tortoise shell, and horn : which last she called bone, 
 but seemed to have meant horn. A pin which was sup- 
 posed to be a chrystal, she pronounced to be glass; after- 
 wards, on trial it proved to be glass. 
 
 " August 1st, eleven o'clock A. Ai. — Miss M'Avoy much 
 the same as yesterday. 
 
 " Experiment XII. — Read, common print easily by 
 touching apiece of window glass held twelve inches from 
 the book ; at a greater distance she could not read, but 
 could read much easier when the glass was brought 
 nearer to the book. In like manner, and at the same 
 distance, she discovered a sixpence, half-guinea, three- 
 shilling piece, &c. she mentioned which had the head, 
 which the reverse upwards, read the dates, pointed out 
 on the sixpence, the position of the harp, lions, crown,- 
 &c. She observed, unasked, that one half-guinea was 
 crooked ; said it did not lie flat on the paper ; that the 
 crown was downward ; that it was not a brass counter : 
 does not think it is the shadow of the half-guinea which 
 makes her know it to be crooked. 
 
239 
 
 " Experiment XIII. — Declared, by feeling on the plaitt 
 glass, at the distance of three or four inches, that two 
 substances below were a red and a white rose leaf. Be- 
 ing asked if it was not red and white paper, or cloth ; 
 replied no, it is a ro^se leaf. 
 
 ** Experiment XIV. — Again, she distinguished by the 
 feel, the difference between stone and glass ear-rings, 
 seals, brooches, &e. and pointed out one glass seal, 
 which was supposed to be a chrystal ; being tried by a 
 file, it proved to be glass. She named the colours of all 
 the different articles. She says, stone feels more solid 
 than glass, more firm.* 
 
 *' Experiment XV.— Could not discover colours by 
 the tongue ; but closing between her lips, the red, yel- 
 low, blue, and white petals of flowers, she told each 
 accurately. 
 
 " iExperimentXVI. — She told the prismatic colours as 
 accurately as on the preceding day, whether cast on ths 
 back, or on the palm of the hand ; said she perceived 
 something black on her hand ; observed when it moved, 
 and when it was stationary. Being bid to move her fin- 
 gers, she exclaimed. Oh I it is the shadow of my own fin- 
 gers — which was the fact. 
 
 
 
 ** Experiment XVII. — Uncovering her eyes, we cast the 
 most brilliant prismatic colours upon her eyes, which she 
 
 • Sight could have little or no influence in the distinction of glass from the 
 harder stones; Instances are not wanting where she has described the colour 
 and sort of stone in situations where only her fingers were in contact with it, 
 and where no person, not even herself, if she had sight, could see the stone at 
 the time she described the colour. We may therefore safely imagine this 
 power to be derived from a similar source to that which occasioned her distinc- 
 
240 
 
 received firmly, without either winking or shewing: any 
 signs that she was aware of it. The most rapid vibra- 
 tions of the same light did not produce the smallest ef- 
 fect; her eyes remained perfectly firm and motionless. 
 When the prismatic spectrum was thrown upon her mouth 
 and cheeks, she perceived that there were colours on her 
 face, but could not describe them so easily, or so accu- 
 rately, as when they were thrown upon her hands. 
 
 " Experiment XVIII. — She distinctly felt, through a 
 plain glass, at the distance of four inches, the prismatic 
 colours thrown upon a white paper. 
 
 " Experiment XIX. — With her hands upon the win- 
 dow, perceived two newly cut stones, of a yellow co- 
 lour, lying one on the other against a wall on the other 
 side of the street ; distance about twelve yards ; also, a 
 heap of cast iron railing, piled upon each other. One 
 of the company being dispatched to place himself on the 
 ground, stones, rails, &c. she mentioned whenever he 
 moved his position ; perceived him jump off the railing ; 
 mentioned the colour of his dress correctly, only said 
 a plumb coloured coat was black: mentioned two chil- 
 dren accidentally passing by at the same time. She said 
 they appear very small indeed ; the person who was 
 sent appeared about two feet high, when at the distance 
 of twelve yards ; as he came nearer, she observed, that 
 she felt him grow bigger. All objects appear as if paint- 
 ed on the glass.* 
 
 " August 2d, eleven o'clock, a. m. — ^Found Miss 
 M*Avoy much agitated ; was unable to distinguish co- 
 
 • Vide note upon Mr. E. Smith** observation upon this Experiment, at the 
 endofthisLette^. 
 
241 
 
 lours ; her agitation iDcreased at the arrival of many 
 visitors; her pulse rose from 96 to 120; attempted seve- 
 ral times to distinguish different coloured clothes, but 
 all in vain ; at length became unable to stand. 
 
 *' Five o'clock, p. m. — Found Miss M'Avoy quite re- 
 covered ; had been in two or three fits after we left her 
 this morning. Pulse 96. Her touch in the finest order. 
 
 Experiment XX. — A stone ornament, in the shape of 
 an orange, she took for a real orange, at the distance of 
 two or three inches, feeling through the plain glass ; at 
 the distance of fifteen inches it appeared like a nut, the 
 brightness of the colour not diminished ; at thirty inches 
 it appeared no larger than a pea — colour still vivid — 
 still imagines it to be an orange. When she touched it, 
 she immediately found out her mistake.* 
 
 " Experiment XXI. — An orange and an apple, (stone 
 ornaments) being placed at different distances, she told 
 which was the nearest — distance, five or six inches ; felt 
 them both upon the glass, but the orange appeared 
 smaller, and therefore she thought it farther off. 
 
 " Experiment XXII. — Accurately described the fea- 
 tures, &c. of two persons whom she had never seen be- 
 fore— distance of the plain glass from the face, three or 
 four inches. 
 
 " Experiment XXllI. — Perceived her own face in a 
 plain glass — distance, three or four inches; at a greater 
 
 * How are we to reason upon this Experiment ? If the object had been dis- 
 tinguished by sight, the intervention of the glasses could make little difference 
 in the size of it ; nor could the small distance have a material effect in dimi* 
 nishing it. 
 
 H h 
 
242 
 
 distance her face appeared very small; saw her face 
 also reflected from a plain mirror, holding the plain glass 
 at three or four inches distance from the mirror. When 
 the mirror was withdrawn, said her face diminished. 
 All objects constantly appear as a picture on the glass 
 she touches. 
 
 " Experiment XXIV. — Perceived the sun through a 
 plain glass ; also the reflected image of the sun from a 
 plain mirror; was not dazzled with it; found it very 
 pleasant. 
 
 " Experiment XXV. — Several small articles were held 
 over her head; she perceived them all in her plain glass; 
 she asked doubtingly, if a three shilling piece was not a 
 guinea; but raising her glass, and bringing it nearer to 
 the object she corrected her error. 
 
 " Experiment XXVI. — With her fingers on the win- 
 dow, described a work-man in the street ; distance, ten 
 yards ; a cart, loaded with barrels of American flour ; 
 another, with two loaves of sugar ; a third empty ; a girl 
 With a small child in her arms, &c. all accurately true, 
 except that there were three loaves of sugar in the se- 
 cond cart. 
 
 "Experiment XXVII. — Could not distinguish by the 
 touch the difference between pure water, and a solution 
 of common salt in water. 
 
 " Experiment XXVIII. — Accurately described by th^ 
 touch several small engravings." 
 
243 
 
 OF 
 
 MR. EGERTON SMITH. 
 
 Mr. Egerton Smith expressed a wish that the Memo- 
 randa respecting Miss M*Avoy, published in the Liver- 
 pool Mercury, should be inserted with the other letters 
 in the Appendix of the Narrative, lest it should be 
 supposed he believed in the powers ascribed to her. 
 It gave me pleasure to comply with Mr. E. Smith's re- 
 quest, and I then said I had no wish to gain a single pro- 
 selyte to my opinion, unless he were convinced of the 
 fact; but I could scarcely avoid thinking, that the proof 
 Mr. E. Smith had given of Miss M'Avoy's powers, in 
 his own presence, and, at the time, to the apparent con- 
 viction of his own mind, would have more weight with 
 the public, than the bare assertion of his disbelief of 
 them, founded upon the opinion of other individuals. 
 In this Continuation of her Case, I have also preferred to 
 give his observations, together with his experiments, that 
 the public may judge of them, rather than separate them 
 from each other. 
 
 Some time in September, 1816, I accompanied Dr. 
 Renwick, on a professional visit he paid to Miss M'Avoy, 
 at her residence in St. Paul's Square, on the east side. 
 She was then between sixteen and seventeen years of 
 age ; of pleasing and ingenuous countenance, and appa- 
 
^^ 
 
 rently of amiable and artless disposition. Her mother 
 informed me, that in the preceding June her daughter 
 had been attacked with hydrocephalus, or water in the 
 bead, together with a paralytic affection on one side, and 
 a complication of other disorders, which I forbear to 
 enumerate ; because I am wholly ignorant of that part of 
 the subject, which wil! no doubt be minutely detailed in 
 the publication alluded to. According to her own state- 
 ment, corroborated by that of her mother, the hydroce- 
 phalus preceded, and, in their opinions, produced the 
 blindness or gutta serena, under which she is supposed 
 to labour, but which has been called in question, I under- 
 stand, by some of the professional men who have vidted 
 her.* 
 
 Her mother, however, declared that the light of the 
 sun produced not the slightest sensible effect upon her 
 eyes; and some of the professional gentlemen who hap- 
 pened to be present at one of my repeated visits, declar- 
 ed that though some slight contraction of the pupil was 
 perceptible upon the approach of a lighted candle to the 
 eye, it was by no means such as uniformly occurs when 
 the visual organs perform the regular functions. 
 
 At my first interview, I learned from herself, what I had 
 indeed previously been told by others, that she had re- 
 cently acquired the faculty of distinguishing, not only 
 the colours of cloth and stained glass, but that she could 
 actually decypher the forms of words of a printed book ; 
 and, indeed, could read, if the phrase may be permitted, 
 with tolerable facility. To put these pretensions to the 
 
 • If this opinion be questioned, it must be against the evidence of the 
 symptoms which occurred previous to the convulsions which took place, and 
 to the discharge of the fluid from the brain. 
 
S45 
 
 test, she permitted a shawl to be passed across the eyes, in 
 double folds, in such a way that all present were con- 
 vinced, that they could not, under similar circumstances, 
 discern day from night. In this state, a book was placed 
 before her, and opened indiscriminately ; when to our 
 extreme surprise, she began to trace the words with her 
 fing-er, and to repeat them correctly. She appeared to 
 recognize a short monosyllable by the simple contact of 
 one finger ; but in ascertaining a long word, she placed 
 the fore finger of her left hand on the beginning, whilst 
 with that of her right hand, she proceeded from the 
 other extremity of the word ; and when the two fingers, 
 by having traversed over all the letters, came in contact 
 with each other, she invariably and precisely ascertained 
 the word. By my watch, I found that she read about 
 thirty words in half a minute ; and it very naturally oc* 
 curred to us, that if, notwithstanding her supposed blind- 
 ness, and the double bandage over the eyes, she could 
 still see, she would have read much more rapidly, if her 
 motive had been to excite our astonishment. And here 
 it may not be amiss to state, that there does not appear 
 to be any adequate motive for practising a delusion upon 
 the public. Her situatioQ in life is respectable ; and her 
 mother disavows any intention of ever exhibiting her 
 daughter as a means of pecuniary remuneration. Fifteen 
 months have now elapsed since the period at which she 
 laid claim to the extraordinary faculty which has given 
 rise to so much curiosity, astonishment, and perplexity; 
 during which time the reputation of so wonderfuld a cir- 
 cumstance has subjected her to the fatigue and inconve- 
 nience of daily and almost hourly visits. 
 
 According to her oven statement, her powers of touch 
 vary very materially with circumstances. When her 
 hands are cold, she declares that the faculty is altoge- 
 
^46 
 
 ther lost ; and that it is exhausted, also, by long and un- 
 remitted efforts ; that she considers the hours of from ten 
 until twelve, of each alternate day, the most favourable 
 for her performance. Her pulse during the experiments, 
 has varied from 1 10 to 130 degrees. 
 
 One circumstance, vrbich has created much doubt and 
 suspicion, must not be concealed ; which is, that if any 
 substance, for instance, a book or a shawl, be interposed 
 between her face and the object she is investigating, she 
 is much embarrassed, and frequently entirely baffled. She 
 explains this, by saying that it is necessary there should 
 be an uninterrupted communication between her fingers 
 and her breath.* I leave it to others to draw their own 
 conclusions upon this point; as my object is not to esta- 
 blish any theory, or give currency to any mystery, but to 
 relate the simple facts. I am, therefore, compelled to 
 express my conviction that she can neither ascertain co- 
 lours, nor the words of a book, in total darkness ; 
 and, as many persons very naturally will ask, why has 
 not such a test been proposed ? The reply must be, that 
 as the young lady is not the subject of a public exhibi- 
 tion and as an introduction to her is merely a matter of 
 favour, it might not be very courteous or delicate, under 
 such circumstances, to make any proposal which seemed 
 to imply a suspicion that she was an impostor. 
 
 There are persons, however, who, giving her implicit 
 credit for the reality of the extraordinary powers to 
 
 ♦ This opinion I have stated to be erroneous. The same effect wtis pro- 
 duced when uncovered, or when a plate of glass intervened between her 
 mouth and the object, through which she might have seen, if the object were 
 distinguished by vision. I therefore presume her frequent failures, when 
 obstructions of this kind took place, to have been caused by this interruption 
 producing a peculiar effect upon the nervous system. 
 
247 
 
 which she lays claim, will contend that it is altogether 
 unfair to propose the test of total darkness. Proceeding 
 upon their belief that she actually ascertains colour, &c. 
 by the finger, or that the visual organ is transferred to 
 the touch ; still they say that light is essentially neces- 
 sary to produce that effect upon the surface of the body 
 felt, which enables her to distinguish one shade from 
 another : they add, that as there is no such thing as 
 colour in total darkness, it is perfectly ridiculous to ex- 
 pect that she should ascertain the various shades with- 
 out the presence of that light which alone produces those 
 shades. It is, according to their mode of considering 
 the subject, as absurd as to expect an effect without a 
 cause. 
 
 It has already been stated, that, with the double ban- 
 dage over her eyes, she read several lines of a book in- 
 discriminately opened ; as it was possible that the letters 
 of a printed book might have some slight impression sen- 
 sible to an exquisite touch, I took from my pocket book 
 an engraved French assignat, which was hot-pressed and 
 smooth as glass ; she read the smallest lines contained in 
 this, with the same facility as the printed book. A letter 
 received by that day's post was produced, the direction 
 and post mark of which she immediately and correctly 
 decyphered. 
 
 She also named the colour of the separate parts of the 
 dresses of the persons in company, as well as various 
 shades of stained glass, which were purposely brought. 
 
 What 1 had seen at my first interview was so extremely 
 astonishing, and so far surpassed any thing I had ever 
 known or read of the powers ascribed to persons depriv- 
 ed of sight, that I could only account for it on the sup- 
 
248 
 
 position that she was not blind, and that she had some se» 
 cret mode of discerning an object notwithstanding: the 
 bandage, through which T myself, could not distinguish 
 night from day, when it was applied to my own eyes. 1 
 therefore made the best apology 1 could for visiting her 
 house again the same evening, having previously pre- 
 pared myself with several tests, which I begged permis- 
 sion to submit to her examination, when the candle was 
 withdrawn. Not the slightest objection was offered to my 
 proposal, and the candle was extinguished : her mother 
 stationed herself before the fire, which was extremely 
 low, and afforded so little light that I could not have 
 read one word of moderate sized print, if it had been 
 brought almost in contact with the bars of the grate. I 
 then took from my pocket a small book, the type of 
 which was very little larger than that of an ordinary 
 newspaper ; observing at the time, that I was afraid the 
 print was too minute ; to which she replied, that her 
 fingers were in excellent order, and that she had no 
 doubt but she should be able to make it out The can- 
 dle, as was before observed, had been extinguished ; 
 and her mother and myself were so stationed that had 
 there been any light afforded by the fire, we must have 
 intercepted it. Miss M'Avoy sat in the furthest part of 
 the room, with her back towards the grate, in such a 
 situation that I could barely discern even the leaves of 
 the book which lay open before her; the title of which 
 she proceeded to read with complete success, with the 
 exception of one very minute word. 
 
 1 then presented to her a small piece of smooth 
 writing paper, which was ruled with horizontal faint 
 blue lines, between each of which were traced lines 
 with a pen and black ink : there were also perpendi- 
 cular red lines, between which were scored black linest 
 
249 
 
 All these, with their direction and order, she determined 
 without any apparent difficulty. She also told correctly 
 the colours of a variety of pieces of cloth, procured immc)- 
 diately before at a draper's shop. 
 
 All the experiments hitherto described, as well as those 
 which follow, were performed by Miss iVPAvoy, with the 
 bandage before her eyes ; and as the shawl, which was 
 usually applied to this purpose, produced considerable 
 warmth and inconvenience, a pair of what, in the optici- 
 ans shop.s, are called gogglers, had been provided, which 
 so completely excluded the light, that no person who 
 tried them, could discern the difference between day and 
 night, when they were fitted to the face. As these gog- 
 glers have been generally used when Miss M*Avoy has 
 exhibited her surprising talent, it is necessary that the 
 reader should have a correct idea of them. They are in- 
 tended to be worn by travellers, to guard the eyes against 
 the wind or the dust, and consist of two glasses, some- 
 times green, fitted into a bandage of leather, which is pass- 
 ed horizontally across the face, and is tied with ribbons 
 round the back of the head. The gogglers provided for 
 MissM*Avoy, instead of glasses, were fitted up with opaque 
 pasteboard, lined with paper, and not an aperture was left 
 through which a single ray of light could penetrate. 
 
 Mr. Nichol, a scientific gentleman, who wasdelii-ering 
 a course of philosophical lectures in Liverpool, having 
 heard of this extraordinary property, applied to me to 
 obtain an introduction to Miss M'Avoy, and I accompa- 
 nied him to her house, along with Mr. James Smith, prin- 
 ter, of this to\*n. iVi this interview the experimenti 1 
 have already detailed were repeated with complete suc- 
 cess, whilst the gogglers were applied. One part of the 
 performance was so truly astonishing, that 1 should al- 
 
 I i 
 
250 
 
 most hesita(e to relate it, if those two g-entlemen had not 
 been present, to vouch for the truth. I had furnished 
 myself with a set of stained landscape glasses, usually 
 termed Claude Lorrain glasses. They were seven in 
 number, contained in a frame. She ascertained the pre- 
 cise shade of each correctly : one glass, however, appear- 
 ed to embarrass her, and after considerable scrutiny, she 
 said it was not black, nor dark-blue, nor dark-brown ; but 
 she thought it was a very deep crimson. We did not 
 know whether her conjecture was correct or not, as we 
 could not ourselves ascertain the shade. By reflected 
 light it appeared to us to be perfectly black ; nor was the 
 flame of the fire, which was stirred for the occasion, visi- 
 ble through it in the faintest degree. We had abandoned 
 all expectation of determining tjiis point, when the sun 
 suddenly emerged from behind the clouds ; and by that 
 test, and that alone, were we enabled to discover that she 
 was correct, as we could just discern the solar image of a 
 very deep crimson. It has been said, and with some plau- 
 sibility, that this must have been a bold guess upon her 
 part: if not, it will puzzle our physiologists to explain, 
 how a person reputed to be blind, with an opaque ban- 
 dage also over her eyes, could declare the colour of a 
 glass, which persons in full enjoyment of their eyesight, 
 jand without any such obs(acles, could not discern by any 
 other light than that of the meridian sun! 
 
 At this meeting we were informed that Miss M'Avoy 
 had recently found out that this extraordinary faculty 
 was not confined to her fingers, and that she could also 
 dis-tinguish the colour of an object which was brought in- 
 to contact with the back of her hands. This was imme- 
 diately made the subject of experiment by Mr. Nichol, 
 who successively applied several objects which he had 
 with him, to that part of the hand ; in placing which, he 
 
S61 
 
 \jged so much precaution, that I could not see them my- 
 self, althoug:h my eyes were fixed upon his hands. She 
 was completely successful, also upon this occasion. 
 
 I have now giveii a faithful narrative of what I have 
 actually witnessed, and what has been the subject of no- 
 toriety and astonij»hment probably to thousands in this 
 town ; and I shall only trespass further on the public p»i- 
 tience, whilst 1 briefly state what has been related to me 
 by several professional gentlemen of the town, as the re- 
 sult of their (experiment's, since th6 time when I discon- 
 tinued my visits, for a reason which candour obliges me 
 not to conceal, although I am loath to say any thing 
 which might wound the sensibility of an individual who 
 has atforded me such amusemeiit, and uniformly received 
 me with the utmost affability and politeness. I have ne- 
 ver believed it possible that all the experiments I have 
 witnessed were performed by the simple medium of touch ; 
 and though t admit with our master poetj that" there ar& 
 more things Hwixt heaven and earth than our phi/oso- 
 phy dreams of,'' yet I could never divest myself of the 
 impression that the eye was in some way of other con- 
 cerned in these mysteries.^ tt Was a delicate point, as I 
 before observed, to scrutinize i66 closely into all the mi- 
 nutiae of a performance which was gratuitous, and politely 
 conceded to a stranger, in her own house, and which, 
 however it can be explained, is abundantly wonderful. A^ 
 I dould not however, like some of my friends, become a 
 proselyte to these miracles, I did iiot think proper any 
 longer to harrass her with an impertinent and hopeless 
 curiosity. She had begun to assume powers of a more ex- 
 
 • If the reader look only to the assertions of Mr. Smith, he might receive 
 them as proofs ; but if he attend to the facts related by the fiame gentleman, 
 his assertions will weigh very light in the balance. 
 
2h2 
 
 traordinary character than any I have described, and by 
 proving^ too much, sho defeated her own object, at least in 
 my imperfect estimation. 
 
 I had seen b^r seven or eight times in the course of a 
 very few weeks, previous to my declining^ my visits ; but 
 stili continued to hear of her, from those whose faith had 
 survived mine, and is as lively to the full at this moment as 
 it was fifteen months ago. From these, her truly faith- 
 ful followers, 1 heard that the experiments I have de- 
 tailed, and many others had been repeated, with the 
 boiled whites of eggs fixed upon the eyes ; and, also, that 
 gold beater's skin had been used for the same purpose ; 
 she had also begun to tell th6 hoUr and minute through 
 the watoh glass, without opening the case ! But the most 
 wonderful thing of all^ and Which forms an appropriate 
 climax to the other mysteries, was the newly acquired 
 power of ascertaining objects at a distance, with her back 
 towards them ; and by simply stretching out the fingers 
 in the directioti of such object ! I have heard it gravely 
 asserted, and corroborated by herself in an interview on 
 Monday last, that she has thus from her parlour window 
 identified several persons passing through St. PauTs 
 church yard, and declared the colour of their dress, 
 &c.I!!'^ 
 
 * This IS certainly one of those facts which cannot be believed upon mere 
 hearsay ; and 1 hardly wonder at Mr. E. Smith not giving credit to it; but 
 from his own experiments he must, at least, have supposed her to possess 
 peculiar powers. It is certainly as reasonable, therefore, to presume from this 
 examination, that the success he met with might be really owing to her varied 
 powelrs of touch, not to any peculiar acuteness in vision ; because there are the 
 strongest proofo of the first opinion being correct, not only from what he has 
 stated, but from the circumstance that some of his own experiments have 
 been corroborated by those of other individuals. Of the latter opinion, of her 
 possessing a peculiar acuteness in vision, Mr. Smith has given no proof. 
 
 The fa«t of her stating objects thxough the window, or upon therailing of th* 
 
853 
 
 In the preceding protracted, but faithful narrative, it 
 has been my object to detail facts rather than to indulge 
 in theories. 
 
 Whatever contrariety of opinions may prevail on this 
 point amongst true believers or sceptics, there are two 
 conclusions, to one of which they cannot withhold their 
 assent : — 
 
 First — Either Miss M'Avoy, although blind, possesses 
 the faculty of distinguishing objects and colours hy the 
 touchy or some other means than the eyes ; — or, 
 
 Secondly — Miss M'Avoy, reputed to be blind, and with 
 a bandage over her eyes, through which no other person 
 can see ; in a place, also, so dark that others can distin- 
 guish little or nothing, can see better than any other 
 person. 
 
 Leaving to physiologists the farther investigation of this 
 extraordinary case, I shall, for the present, conclude, by 
 affixing to the preceding statements my name at full 
 length, which I conceive to be indispensable in the pre- 
 sent instance. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 Egerton Smith. 
 Liverpool, Sept. 2, 1817. 
 
 Church yard, or in the street, has been witnessed by many persons. Miss 
 M'Avoy was generally covered with the goggles, standing in a natural position, 
 with her face neither elevated nor depressed, but the middle of it, as it were, 
 meeting an horizontal line drawn from the Communion end of St. Paul's 
 Church ; so that agreeing for one moment with her opponents, she could see 
 down the sides of the nose, the only way, supposing she had the faculty of vi- 
 sion, they assert she can see, when facing objects in the street, or in the Church 
 yard, (the furthest distance being seventeen feet and nine inches from the win- 
 dow), a line drawn from the point or sides of the nose, wouUl fall into the par- 
 lour where she stood, and of <;ourse could not be directed to the object she 
 described. 
 
254 
 
 From a due consideration of the proofs adduced above*, 
 the Public will have a better opportunity of judging cor- 
 rectly, than it could have done, by reading only one side 
 of the question. Miss M'Avoy is also still in being, so 
 that individuals may make, if they choose, a personal in- 
 quiry into her state of health, &c. : by these means they 
 can form their own opinion, which ought to be more sa- 
 tisfactory to themselves^ than that of any other per- 
 son. 
 
 It is probable also Mr. Sandars will now agree with 
 me, that partial statements of a case of this nature 
 can never be effective in elucidating the truth ; that the 
 open avowal of those circumstances which were for or 
 against Miss M'Avoy^ could only convince an impartial 
 mind ; that, in attempting to influence the public against 
 an oppressed individual, from so slight an evidence as 
 that produced by himself, from an almost momentary ex- 
 amination, or from the assertion of others, whom he has 
 dragged into his service upon this occasion, he has laid him- 
 self open to public censure ; and that, although for a time 
 he has had the ball at his foot, and has caused muchoblo- 
 quy to attach to Miss M*Avoy's character, he will yet find 
 the Italian adage to be true, that " Ogni medaglia ha 
 il suo reverso" 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
AIPIPIEI^IDII^. 
 
 Copies of the Letters published in Mr. Joseph San- 
 dars's Pamphlet, entitled " Hints to Credulity,'* 
 and of the particulars of what passed on the ISth 
 of October, 1817, as related by two Gentlemen 
 who were witnesses of the Experiments made on 
 that day* 
 
 No, 1. — Mr. Turmeau's Letter to Mr. Sandars. 
 
 Sir, " 
 
 I have received your note, requesting 
 me to state the circumstances to you which occurred 
 during my visit to Miss M'Avoy, on the 24th September 
 last. I will, agreeably to yoiir desife, and to the best of 
 my recollection, relate what I saw and heard. 
 
 It may be proper to inform you that Dr. Jardine, Mr. 
 By water, and myself, had a meeting at my house on the 
 same morning, for the purpose of arranging our plans of 
 experiments to be tried in the most satisfactory manner 
 to ourselves, and to give the least trouble to the young 
 Lady, of whose extreme irritability Dr. Jardine had most 
 carefully apprised us. At the time appointedlVC^ o'clock,) 
 accompanied by Mr. Bywater, I met Dr. Jardine, and 
 Mr. Hargreaves at Mr. Hughes's, in St. Paul's Square; 
 as we had been led to expect we should have had Miss 
 M'Avoy's company to ourselves exclusively, we were 
 much disappointed, on entering a small room, to find 
 her surrounded by at least thirty ladies and gentlemen; 
 the atmosphere of the apartment was certainly oppres- 
 sive, and when I was informed Miss M'Avoy had already 
 been visited during the morning by three or four large 
 parties, 1 began to fear the experiments we had prepared 
 w^ould remain in our pockets one in particular, con- 
 
f rived by Mr. By water, we much wished to have tried; 
 1 think it would have been conclusive ; so many were 
 presenting subjects to her, and her alleged powers ap- 
 pearing to be quite exhausted, we agreed not to try it. 
 When her faculty of touch seemed to return, by her tell- 
 ing the colours of shawls, coats, &c. I presented a card 
 upon which 1 had put some broad stripes of the primary 
 colours; she told these accurately, except the yellow, 
 which she called lilac, the exact opposite to yfello^v ; her 
 eyes were then wide open without any covering. The 
 card was reversed, the coloiirs downward, and presented 
 to her; after feeling a short time, she said she could not 
 tell the colours. Soon after this, Mr. Thomas proceeded 
 to fasten goldbeater's skin upon her eyes ; the lids being 
 down, I was attentively watching this operation ; when 
 completed, I observed you on your knees by her side, 
 looking steadfastly at her eyes; and you exclaimed, ** she 
 can see, the eyelids are not quite closed ; if my eyes were 
 similarly situated, I could see also."' From the infor- 
 mation we had received of her nervous state, I instantly 
 anticipated the downfal of all our hopes fbr that day, 
 and begged of Dr. Jardine to call you asidfe and recom- 
 mend a (liiferent conduct. At that time, no doubt, the 
 whole of us felt very angry with you ; but upon reflec- 
 tion, this feeling soon left me, as I think strangers should 
 have been apprised of her great sensibility, either by 
 those who introduced them, orby a written notice placed 
 in a conspicuous part of the room. The goggles were 
 then put on ; all power left her ; Mr. Thomas said her 
 hands were too cold ; she sat a considerable time in this 
 situation ; the heat of the room was great; she appeared 
 to be faint, and was recommended to retire for a short 
 time ; the goggles were taken off, and she did so. Di- 
 rectly after This, I found you with the goggles in the 
 kitchen, attended by several gentlemen. 1 assistedin fast- 
 ening them upon your face ; this done, Mr. Bywater said, 
 •^ If you can see now you are a clever fellow." A watch 
 tvas presented to you, the time of which yon told accu- 
 rately ; the same of another ; the strings were then tight- 
 ened about your head, and another watch was olfered, 
 by which yon could not tell the time, but said it wound 
 tip on the face of it ; this was correct. 'J^ We returned to 
 
 * Contrast this account with that of Dr. Jardiiie, pages 143 and 144 of the 
 Continuation of the case. 
 
Miss M*Avoy, who was then in the back parlour, with 
 the goldbeater's skin only over her eyes. I was told she 
 had just before read the address of a letter; when I en- 
 tered, she was passing her fingers over the top line of the 
 Liverpool Patent Trade List, which she read correctly, 
 also a line in small print under the above. She was 
 then conducted to the front parlour ; the goggles were 
 applied; 1 assisted in placing and holdinjr the boxes so 
 that the upper edges should be under the projections of 
 the eye-brows, whilst a lady was tying the strings behind 
 her head. During this ceremony. Miss M'Avoy put up 
 her hands to remove them, saying they were too low 
 down. This I prevented, and took care that the cross- 
 ing strings under the nose were properly fastened. I 
 desired her to hold up her head a little, that we might 
 examine the sides of the nose. I was convinced she 
 was perfectly blindfolded ; Mr. Bywater observed, " If 
 she can read now, she must obtain her means of sight 
 from some other source than what I and many others 
 have long suspected, viz. by small apertures being left 
 by the sides of the nose." Some experiments were of- 
 fered, but all power had left her. Miss M'Avoy retired 
 soon after this, and the exhibition terminated. When 
 the Rev. J. Yates said something to you respecting the 
 abrupt exclamation you had used, most of the company 
 had left the house ; I was fastening some goldbeater's 
 skin upon one of your eyes (through which you plainly 
 distinguished colours) when Mrs. Hughes entered the 
 room, and with some warmth said, " Don't mind him, 
 Sir, he is not worth attending to ;" and made use of 
 language which I thought you bore very patiently, by 
 not replying, except by making an apology, to her for 
 what had happened, and appealing to the ladies then 
 present. Soon after this, you with two ladilUquitted the 
 house, leaving Mrs. Hughes, Dr. Jardine, Mr. Thomas, 
 and myself. We conversed a (ew minutes upon the oc- 
 currences that had taken place. Mrs. Hughes said she 
 did not know who had introduced you to the party, and 
 seemed to suspect you had come with Dr. Jardine ; this 
 he denied ; she then said you had intruded without any 
 introduction, and she would take care you should not 
 come again ; your conduct had made her daughter ex- 
 tremely ill ; she was up stairs, and she (Mrs. H ) was 
 sure she could not recover it that day. We all express- 
 ed our sorrow for what had happened. In taking leave, 
 
when descending the steps at the house door, acciden- 
 tally I turned my head, and to my surprise saw Miss 
 MvAvoy standing at the kitchen door, with an infant in 
 her arms, I had no sooner caught a glimpse of her 
 than she skipped out of my sight, as if wishing not to be 
 observed. 
 
 I have endeavoured to give you as correct an account 
 as my memory retains of the facts, and am not at present 
 aware of the motives you may have for requesting the 
 above narrative unless they arise from the note inserted 
 at the bottom of your letter to Mr. Hughes, introduced 
 in Dr. Renwick's late publication.^ 
 1 am, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JnO. TURMEAU. 
 
 Bold-street, Nov. 5, 1817. 
 
 No, 2,— The Letter of an Anonymous Gentleman. 
 
 The goggles were applied. A book which a gen- 
 tleman present happened to have in his pocket, was 
 given to her ; after passing her fingers repeatedly over 
 a particular line, she placed the book upon her knee, 
 and covering her right hand with her left, she read as 
 follows: 
 
 "I will not name them, replied Zelia." 
 
 The line, as printed, ran thus : 
 
 " 1 will not name them, was Zelia's answer." 
 
 A piece of crimson and white paper was put into her 
 hand, with the coloured side down ; after feeling at it 
 some time, she decided that it was black and white. On 
 afterwards holding the paper up to the light, the crim- 
 son colour had very much the appearance of being black. 
 
 The same piece of paper, with the coloured side up, 
 was again given to her, (a sheet of writing paper having 
 been previously interposed between her face and her 
 
 * Mr. Turraeau. it would appear from this paragraph, surmises that Mr. 
 bandars s pamphlet was published out of spleen to me. Vide this note, page 
 8, of the App^dix to the Narrative, and Mr. Sandars's observation which 
 «»ccasioned this note. 
 
hands,) she said she conld not tell what colour it was; 
 on her saying this, the sheet of paper was withdrawn, 
 when she immediately told the colours correctly. 
 
 A letter was then given her, (the sheet of paper bein^ 
 interposed, as in the last experiment,) and she was re- 
 quested to name the colour of the wax with which it 
 was sealed, and likewise what were the letters upon the 
 seal. She said the seal was black, but she could not 
 distinguish what the letters were. The seal was red, 
 and the letters upon it were sufficiently large to have 
 enabled a person with any delicacy of touch to have 
 told what they were. 
 
 No. S.—J. T. Roster's Letter to Mr. Sandars. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 In compliance with your request, 
 I will endeavour to recollect some of the circumstances 
 that occurred at my short visit to Miss M*Avoy. I was 
 introduced by a friend, and found assembled a very nu- 
 merous and highly respectable company of ladies and 
 gentlemen : it was not at the house of her stepfather, but, 
 as I understand, the adjoining house, the parlour of 
 which was more commodious. I kept no memorandum^ 
 but on reference to Dr. Renwick's publication, I observe 
 by the names of part of the company, that it must have 
 been on the 23d of September. 
 
 After blindfolding the young Lady in the usual man- 
 ner, a watch was given into her hand, and she told the 
 time exactly, that it wanted six minutes and a half to 
 three. The routine of experiments were then gone 
 through, of coloured cards, gowns, shawls, silks in a 
 phial, and also the mirror ; this she held in her hand, and 
 a gentleman looked into it over her shoulder ; she could 
 not make out any thing; 1 remarked to him, that if he 
 would lean farther over, so as to see the Lady's face in 
 the glass, she would more readily receive the impression ; 
 he did so, and she then described his countenance and 
 the colour of his hair. She was soon after desired to 
 feel the hair of Mr. William Earle, and tell the colour. 
 She either said positively, it is red, or interrogatively, is 
 
it not red ? This gentleman's hair is very ^rey, and he 
 wears powder. She was next desired to describe the 
 colour of the hair of Mr. EarIe,who sat nearer to her and 
 more forward ; she felt it, bat said she could not tell. 
 
 The room being heated by the crowd of company, she 
 was advised to retire for awhile. In her absence, I sug- 
 gested to Mr. Earle, that if the young Lady would per- 
 mit him to lay his head upon her lap, I was confident 
 she would discover the colour of his hair; immediately 
 on her return he did so, and without hesitation she said 
 it was white. The elder Mr. Earle does not wear pow- 
 der, but his hair' is also very grey. Some few other ex- 
 periments were made, when this gentleman said, he had 
 heard that Miss M'Avoy could discover by the feel, what 
 was written on the inside of a hat, and he presented to 
 her the concavity of his own hat sideways ; she put her 
 hand into it, and said she felt nothing ; on this a card 
 was given to her, coloured on one side a bright red, and 
 on the other blue ; she felt it a long time, and at last she 
 could not distinguish the colour ; here some one re- 
 marked that ihe fatuity was gone, or going. 
 
 I must confess that from what I had witnessed, it ap- 
 peared to me that this intermitting of what is called the 
 young Lady's faculty, together with the alleged neces- 
 sity of a free communication between her breath and the 
 object to be distinguished by the touch, are occasionally 
 extremely convenient. 
 
 Your's, dear sir, very truly, 
 
 J. T. KOSTER. 
 
 Ath November, 1817. 
 
 JVo. 4. — Mr. C Worthington' s Letter to Mr. Sandars. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 In compliance with your request, I 
 purpose stating, as accurately as I can, my observations 
 during a visit I made to Miss M'Avoy, I think on the 2d 
 of September last. I shall confine myself solely to facts. 
 Dr. Jardine kindly obtained permission for me to see 
 Miss M'Avoy, and introduced me to her. 
 
As I arrived some time before Miss M'Avoy made her 
 appearance, I had an opportunity of examining into 
 the means employed for covering her eyes, when expe 
 riments are made. I was shown tlie pasteboard screen 
 described in Dr. Renwick's " Narrative," and the mask 
 with the goggles, of which the Dr. has given a sketch in 
 the frontispiece to his publication. Wishing to satisfy 
 myself that the goggles were an effectual blind, I had 
 them tried on myself. Dr. Jardine had lied the strings 
 tighter, 1 believe, than Miss M'Avoy could have borne. 
 On looking down my nose, I found I could distinguish 
 objects immediately below me, without difficulty. I saw 
 my watch-chain, for instance, I was glad to get rid of the 
 mask ; it made me extremely hot, and occasioned an un- 
 easiness in my eyes, which continued several hours. 
 
 When Miss M'Avoy entered, her hands were hot, and 
 the power had left her. I asked permission to examine 
 her eyes, which she granted with great good humour. 
 They appeared somewhat dim, and placed deep in the 
 head. On exposure to a strong light, the pupils con- 
 tracted as much as those in healthy eyes, under similar 
 circumstances, but I think rather more slowly. I took 
 an opportunity of darting my fingers rapidly towards 
 the eye ; it did not blink. 
 
 Miss M*Avoy, after cooling her hands with a wet 
 sponge, said she would try whether the power was re- 
 turned, before her eyes were covered. Accordingly, 
 some bits of coloured silk were presented to her one by 
 one ; I was standing close to her, and looked intently 
 at the eyes, to watch their motions. The three colours 
 first given her were blue, scarlet, and pink ; she named 
 them rightly, after having felt the bits of silk for a few 
 seconds ; but I observed the eyes were previously direct- 
 ed to the objects, with a rapid and instantaneous glance. 
 The next bit of silk was a drab or fawn colour. She did 
 not tell the colour, nor were the eyes directed to it. 
 
 The pasteboard screen, cut to fit the face, and having 
 its edges covered with cotton-wool, was then applied.. 
 On looking under it, rays of light were perceived between 
 it and the nose. These I effectually excluded, by gently 
 insinuating a little cotton into the interstices that admit- 
 ted the light, so that it was impossible she could see any 
 object placed immediately under the pasteboard, even if 
 she were not blind. Unfortunately, the power now left 
 her, and she failed in every attempt. In answer to sv 
 
10 
 
 question I put to Miss M'Avoy, she said she preferred 
 the goggles to the pasteboard. 
 
 Miss M'Avoy now retired, and was absent for a con- 
 siderable time ; on her return she appeared cheerful, and 
 said she believed she should now succeed. The goggles 
 were put on. She dislinguished colours, told the time 
 of the day by a watch, read a few words from a book, a 
 written note, and an address card, in her usual manner. 
 During these wonderful performances, one of the com- 
 pany interposed a piece of printed calico between her 
 face and the object; she immediately perceived it, and 
 pushed it away in rather an angry manner. On the gog- 
 gles being taken off, a gentleman of high rank in the 
 navy closed the eye-lids with his fingers ; and the power 
 instantly left her, though a few seconds before she seem- 
 ed in full possession of it. I regret 1 could not prolong 
 my visit, and witness a few more performances of this 
 extraordinary young lady. 
 
 I have now given you a full and somewhat desultory 
 account of what I saw on my visit to Miss M'Avoy, and 
 have stated impartially every circumstance that might 
 appear either to confirm, or invalidate the idea of her 
 beingblind. I shall make no comment, but comforting 
 myself with the conviction that " truth is mighty, and 
 will prevail," I subscribe myself 
 
 Your very sincere friend, 
 
 C. WORTHINGTON. 
 
 Noo. — The Letter of a Gentleman to Mr. Sandctrs. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In October, 1816, Mr. Bradbury, author 
 of Travels in America, acccmpanied by a friend, visited 
 Miss M'Avoy. His friend had seen this young lady se- 
 veral times before, and from witnessing some experi- 
 ments that were tried upon her, was of opinion that she 
 could see ; but being anxious that Mr. Bradbury should 
 also observe her, he prevailed upon him to visit her. 
 After a few experiments, Mr. B. was so well satisfied that 
 Miss M'Avoy could see with her eyes, that he ceased to 
 examine her further, and seated himself by the fire to 
 wait until his friend was ready to depart. His friend 
 
11 
 
 made a few more efforts, to be convinced whether the 
 opinion he had previously entertained was well or ill* 
 founded, and proposed, as a final test of her powers, 
 that she should determine, with her hand behind her 
 back, the colour of a piece of cloth which he brought 
 with him ifor that purpose. 
 
 After feieling it for a short period, and being informed 
 that she was mistaken in the colour that she guessed it 
 to be, Miss M'Avoy requested permission to use her 
 other hand, which of course was instantly acceded to. 
 Aher some time had elapsed, in which she was unsuc- 
 cessful in her efforts to determine the colour, her mo- 
 ther, who was in the, room, and had been engaged in 
 affixing leather to tiie goggles, handed them over to 
 Mr. B's friend, arid asked his opinion, whether it wai 
 possible, in their amended state, for a person to see with 
 them ? He unwarily put them on him for a few moments^ 
 to ascertain the point demanded, and when he took 
 them off, he was surprised t6 find that Miss M*Avoy 
 could Iheh, state correctly the colour of the cloth. He 
 shortly after took leave of her, as he was extremely 
 desirous of learning from Mr. B. what had transpired, 
 ddring the time he had incautiously put on the goggles. 
 Mr. B. was equally anxious to communicate what he 
 had observed duHng that period, in which, although 
 apparently heedless of what was passing, he was an at- 
 tentive observer. Mr. B. then related, that as soon as 
 his friend had put on the goggles, he saw Miss M*Avoy 
 rapidly glance at himself and his friend, and acting as 
 from an apparent conviction of not being observed, she 
 drew the cloth from behind her back, gazed at it quick- 
 ly, and restored it to its former situation, before the 
 goggles were removed from his friend's eyes. This fact 
 Mr. Bradbury has related to several respectable Gen- 
 tlemen, who are fully satisfied of his candour and inte- 
 g;rity. 
 
 Liverpool, 6th Nov. 1817. 
 
 No. 6. — Mr. hutwyche's Leiler tb Mir. Sandar^. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I received your communication on the 
 sing^ular case of Miss M'Avoy, from which 1 understand 
 
 b 
 
12 
 
 that, iikie myself, you have doubts of her pdssessiug that 
 extraordinary talent, which some persons, even of the 
 Faculty j give her credit for. I have no particular ob- 
 jection to your giving publicity to a detail of those ex- 
 periments I witnessed at her residence some months 
 since ; but being anxious to afford this young Lady a 
 fair opportunity of making a convert of myself to this 
 new Theory, 1 declined replying to your note sooner, 
 under the hope that I might have prevailed on her and 
 her Mother to have allowed another interview, and if 
 possible to have removed the spell, which renders me 
 for the present incapable of believing. For this pur- 
 pose, I waited on Mrs, Hughes yesterday, and candidly 
 informed her that I had been applied to by yourself, for 
 these particulars, but that 1 should have much greater 
 satisfaction in declaring my belief than my doubts on 
 this subject. I was desirous of placing a few pieces oil 
 coloured glass, in such a situation that they could not 
 be seen by any human being, though with as much light 
 thrown upon them as might be required. The result of 
 "this simple experiment would have removed all my 
 doubts, or have confirmed all my suspicions. The in- 
 disposition, however, of Miss M'Avoy, and the great 
 objection of her Mother to admit any one in correspon- 
 dence with yourself, left me no alternative but to pro- 
 ceed with the facts I am already in possession of. 
 
 i think it was in the early part of February, I was in^ 
 duced to pay this Lady a visit, in company with Mr. J. 
 Breretonand another Gentleman, for I was unwilliug^ 
 on bare report, to give credence to a statement so very 
 improbable. Previous to going, we prepared ourselves 
 with a few slips of paper, about seven inches in length, 
 and two inches broad ; in th*j centre of one of these was 
 written the word Liverpool; on another was traced an 
 oval, on a third a square, on a fourth parallel lines cross- 
 ing each other at small distances, none of which occu- 
 pied on each slip of paper a greater space than about 
 two inclies. We also provided ourselves with some slips 
 of coloured papers, from a neighbouring shop. In this 
 shop were exposed for sale some valentines; one of 
 these we purchased, on account of its displaying a varie- 
 ty of colours, but the subject it was intended to repre- 
 sent was so rudely executed, as to require some inge- 
 nuity to discover the intent of the artist. This valentine 
 was surrounded with a wreath of [lowers, and the u.-uai 
 
13 
 
 emblems ; and in the centre was the figure of a sailor. 
 Being thus prepared, we proceeded to the house of her 
 Fatiier ; the door was opened by a young woman, who 
 appeared to look attentively at each of us, when ex- 
 plaining the object of our visit; we were requested to 
 walk in, and on entering the sitting room, were surprised 
 to find this identical young woman the individual in 
 question. Not being sufficiently skilled in the know- 
 ledge of the formation of the eye, or in those nice symp- 
 toms which in doubtful cases determine the non-exis- 
 tence of vision ; we made no other remark, than by 
 placing Miss M'Avoy before the window, and inter- 
 vening the hand between the light and her eye, we 
 plainly discovered a dilatation and contraction of the 
 pupil. 
 
 Having thus far proceeded, the goggles were produc- 
 ed by her Mother, who placed them on the face of her 
 Daughter in such a manner as left us to suppose that a 
 person so blinded could not see in the least. After this, 
 some minutes, perhaps ten or fifteen, elapsed, during 
 which time she frequently breathed upon her fingers, 
 informing us, that the moment had not yet arrived when 
 the feeling faculty had commenced. At intervals, she 
 raised her hands to the bandages, adjusting them appa- 
 rently for ease, though it had very much the appearance 
 of being done for the purpose of admitting a channel 
 for the commuuication of light. We were, however, 
 careful during this period, to give no opportunity of 
 evincing to her any suspicions. At length she declared 
 herself in readiness, and placing her fingers on a parti- 
 cular spot of the slip of paper, where the word " Liver- 
 pool" was written, she pronounced it without hesitation. 
 The same success followed on every other slip of paper 
 put into her hands. In the mean time, the valentine 
 lay in a careless manner on the table before her, so that 
 if there were any channel of light beneath the goggles, 
 it could not have been dilTicuit to see the most prominent 
 objects delineated U]>on it. It was then taken up and 
 presented to her, but tlie experiment, though partially 
 successful, proved rather more than was desirable for 
 her fame. She first placed her fingers on the sailor's 
 hat, and without proceeding further, said it was a man; 
 then bringing her fingers a little lower, described tha 
 colour of his jacket; and intending to proceed down- 
 wards, she declared his trowsers to be striped with pink, 
 
14 
 
 which was in fact the case, but unluckily for Miss 
 M'Avoy, her fingers had not as yet come within one 
 inch of that part of the dress, the colour of which she 
 had pronounced, but were exercised in feeling or rather 
 rubbing the plain part of the paper. She had taken the 
 precaution, during the experiment, to cover the fingers 
 with which she felt the object, with her left hand, in 
 such a manner as surprised us; for it partly excluded 
 the light, and prevented any person opposite from see- 
 ing where the fingers were placed ; but from the acci- 
 dental situation of Mr. Brereton, and myself, who vvere 
 sitting on the same sofa, and leaning, or rather stooping 
 |)ehind her, we were able to trace all her operations 
 without excitina: suspicion. What particularly struck 
 ^ach of us on this occasion, was, the prompt manner in 
 which she first declared the object, before she had trac- 
 ed further than his hat. Here it should be observed, 
 that Miss M'Avoy had not then so far advanced in the 
 science of seeing with her finger ends, as to determine 
 objects at the most trifling distance ; for we discovered, 
 as we proceeded with other experiments, that not only 
 actual fcontact, but very severe rubbing^ was necessary 
 in some cases, before she would venture on pronouncing 
 the colour of the articles in her possession. But to pro- 
 ceed, she was going on with accuracy in describing the 
 colours of the surrounding emblems, when the Gentle- 
 man before named intervened a sheet of paper between 
 her eyes and pngers. The power was in a moment gone, 
 and she was unable to procead with her description of 
 these minor sketches until the "paper was removed, al- 
 leging, that if the communioation between her breath 
 and fingers was interrupted, she eould not go on. 
 
 There lay upon the sofa vvhere she was sitting, a num- 
 ber of small pieces of coloured silks, cotton, velvet, &c. 
 &c. many of these we put into her hands,- both before 
 her face and behind her back ; she sometimes failed, but 
 in most instances described the colours with dorreet- 
 ness. This was during the time she had the goggles on ; 
 but it must be remarked, that these pieces were lying 
 there when we came in, and perhaps had been there 
 for weeks, during which period they might have been 
 so often practised upon, that the very shape would have 
 been sufficiently familiar, to have enabled her without 
 any additional faculty than that of memory, to have de- 
 termined the colour of each with correctness. 
 
le 
 
 Our experiments were now drawing to a close, whea 
 Mr. Steele, from London, entered the room, with a new 
 kind of apparatus, which appeared to possess all the ne- 
 cessary powers of interrupting sight, and yet admitting 
 the needful communication of the fingers with the 
 mouth, which was declared indispensable, for the pur- 
 pose of breathing on them occasionally when touching 
 the object, the colour of which was to be identified. — 
 This apparatus was nothing more than a small sheet of 
 pasteboard, out of one side of which a circular piece 
 was cut, so as to admit her neck. Being placed under 
 her chin, the goggles were considered unnecessary, and 
 were removed ; as there could be no doubt of her pos- 
 sessing the faculty of stfeing with her fingers, if with 
 this projecting appendage she could describe objects, 
 and tell the colours of them when placed beneath it.— 
 It was not our business to determine if the Lady could 
 see with her eyes; our doubts only related to her pos- 
 sessing that faculty with her hands. I think the first 
 trial we made ua4er this new arrangement, was with a 
 watch. Now it happened that two Gentlemen present 
 had gold watches, very nearly alike in size and fashion. 
 One of these was held carelessly, though designedly, at 
 such a distance from her face with the dial upwards, as 
 to be seen, if she had the power and inclination to look 
 at it. A few minutes elapsed in conversation, when it 
 was proposed to put a watch into her hands, beneath the 
 pasteboard, and taking the one just alluded to, for that 
 purp9;ge, I professed to give it her, but in fact put ano- 
 fher watch into her hands, the fingers of which had been 
 privately altered ona hour forward. She drew her fin- 
 gers over the glass, and declared the time to a minute ; 
 but observe, it \Yas not the time of the watch she held in 
 her hand, but the time of the watch I held concealed in 
 mine, the one which had previously been placed care- 
 lessly at a distance with the dial upwards. This artifice 
 she was not made acquainted with, and an exclamation 
 of " astonishing'' being uttered by some one of the par- 
 ty, she concluded that every thing so far was right. — 
 The other watch was then put into her hands, but after 
 feeling at it some time, she declined pronouncing any 
 opinion, and placed it upon her lap, with the face 
 downwards. Her Mother, who was then in the room, 
 stepped forward, and taking it up, placed it on the table 
 before her Daughter's face, with the dial upwards, de- 
 
16 
 
 siring Margaret t» try something else, that presently 
 she would be able to name the hour. From the situa- 
 tion in which the watch was placed, we believe she 
 would have succeeded, but we removed it, and she had 
 not the opportunity. 
 
 In the course of these experiments, she had occasion 
 for her handkerchief, which had been lying on the sofa 
 near her, she felt on each side without finding it; she 
 then stooped forward in the attitude of a person look- 
 ing, and without feeling in the manner she hsid done 
 when sitting upright, placed her hand direct upon it on 
 the floor. We then put into her hands the slips of pa- 
 per she had before described with accuracy, when the 
 goggles were on ; but this new contrivance of the paste- 
 board had dissipated the miraculous power, and her 
 fingers became, like the fingers of other persons, per- 
 fectly blind. Mr. Steele then drew from his pocket se- 
 veral pieces of silk, of various colours, which were 
 given into her hands behind her back ; of many of these 
 .she told us the colour with the greatest correctness : but 
 there was a trifling circumstance attending these trials, 
 which must not be passed unnoticed, and which tend- 
 ed more than any either occurrence to shake our faith, 
 and rank us among the unbelievers. We had expected 
 that iu these experiments she would have evinced great 
 delicacy of touch. On the contrary, every article was 
 handled with a roughness, which would rather tend to 
 ascertain whether they were hard or soft, than to receive 
 the rays of light or colour. This remark was particu- 
 larly applicable when practising on each piece of silk 
 introduced by Mr. Sleele ; the edges of which she liter- 
 ally tore^ and frequently bringing her hand to her mouth 
 under pretence of warming it, small shreds were obser- 
 vable attached to her nails\ and on breathing upon her 
 fingers, they fell in such direction, that if Miss M'i\voy 
 really could see, there was but little risk in ffuessinr/ at 
 the colour of the remaining piece behind her back. Un- 
 willing to leave any little circumstance which occurred 
 on this day unnoticed, I trust I need not apologize for 
 the length of this letter ; and as it does not fall within the 
 range of my talent to enlarge on the philosophical part 
 of this extraordinary endowment, I shall leave the sub- 
 ject in better hands, by subscribing myself 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Thomas Lutwyche, 
 
 Liverpool, Nov. 12, I8I7, 
 4, St. James's-road. 
 
17 
 
 Particulars of what passed on the ISth of October. 
 
 A number of experiments were tried on Miss M^Avoy, 
 in some of wliich she was successful, in others quite the 
 reverse. She had two glass phials put into her hands, 
 in one of which was water, and in the other spirits of 
 wine; she named each very accurately, which Dr. R. 
 regarded as a very extraordinary circumstance ; but up- 
 on examination, it appeared, that although the phials 
 might be of equal weight, they were not of equal size, 
 one being much longer than the other, and the cork»j 
 were not (as they ought to have been) sealed with wax ; 
 indeed they had not the least covering over them, to 
 prevent any one, who had a peculiar fine sense of smell- 
 ing, from ascertaining the difference. A gentleman pre- 
 sent gave into Miss M-Avoy's hands a seal, and request- 
 ed her to tell him the colour of it ; he placed his hand 
 between the seal and her face, and she declared the seal 
 to be black, whereas it was white. At the close of the 
 experiments, another person present expressed an opi- 
 nion that Miss M'Avoy could see; upon which Dr. R. 
 proposed that the goldbeater's skin and the adhesive 
 plaster should be applied to that person's eyes, which 
 was assented to, and uncommon pains were taken by 
 Dr. R. in placing them, so as to prevent all possibility 
 of seeing. When fixing them. Dr. R. said, " Now close 
 your eyelids," to which an answer was returned by some 
 one, " You were not so particular with Miss M'Avoy." 
 However, the request vtas complied with, and when the 
 bandages were properly placed, a watch was presented, 
 and the hour was immediately pronounced ; a glove was 
 given, and the colour was told; a letter was produced, 
 which was read with great facility, although the writing 
 was very small. "-'^ 
 
 The Letter of Mr. Turmeau to the Editors of the Li- 
 verpool Mercury. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 When I gave Mr. Sandarsa narra- 
 tive of the circumstances which occurred, during my vi- 
 sit to Miss M*Avoy, on the 24th of Septemberlast, I was 
 
 * j^e my account of this meeting in the continuation of the ca^e, page » & t>. 
 
IS 
 
 then, and am still, fully convinced Mr. Sandars was in 
 search of truth. I related to him a series of facts, and 
 did not expect to be again called on, either directly or 
 indirectly, in this mysterious affair. However reluctant J 
 may be to obti'ude myself on the public, what has lately 
 taken place has compelled me to do so, in my own de- 
 fence; and 1 shall, therefore, proceed to give you an ac 
 count of a circumstance, which, I think, ought to be ful- 
 ly and fairly stated. 
 
 On Sunday morning, the 11th instant, Mr Dale called 
 Upon me, — and after som6 introductory conversation 
 concerning the case of Miss M'Avoy, he said, that 
 the statement I had inserted in my letter to Mr. Sandars 
 respecting my having seen this lady with the child in 
 her arms, at the kitchen door, at the time her mother 
 declared her to be very ill, up stairs, had made a great 
 impression against her ; and that, from what the family 
 had told him, he Was almost convinced I must have been 
 mistaken as to the person 1 saw. It might have been 
 
 the effect of optical deception — that a Miss D ^ was 
 
 the lady I saw with the infant. — I instantly told Mr. 
 Dale, that I was ready, at anytime, if called upon, to 
 make oath, that it was Miss M'Avoy, and no other 
 person, I saw in the situation described in my letter to 
 Mr. Sandars : he then said, the matter was likely to take 
 a serious turn, as the other j5arties were also ready with 
 their oaths. T told him, that ^as no affair of mine. — Mr. 
 
 D. pressed me to see Miss D , by calling upon her, 
 
 with him, to make myself certain as to her person, before 
 coming to extremities. To oblige hirii, and not to 
 appear perverse, 1 consented to this ; but did not inform 
 him, at the time, that 1 was acquainted with this lady, 
 and had known her for many years: this the parties 
 discovered afterwards, as you will find in the sequel.— 
 Upon any day, at half past three o'clock, I said I w^i 
 ready to accompany him. We did not meet again till 
 the following Sunday, when Mr. Dale called upon me ; 
 but, instead of going to see Miss D — — , I was conduct- 
 ed to the house of Miss M'Avoy, whom we found in the 
 back parlour, apparently in a very bad state of health, 
 constantly twitching and breathing, as if convulsed. 
 
 From enquiry of my medical companion, as to these 
 
 • At the express desire of this lady, ber name is omitted. 
 
i^ 
 
 symptoms, 1 was informed, they were caused by a palpif 
 tation of the heart. After the usual salutations, I heard 
 the name of (I believe) Mrs. N mentioned as the la- 
 dy I had mistaken for Miss M'Avoy, and she was sent 
 for. When I found what game was playing, 1 told Mr. 
 Dale, I should not say a word, before the parties, in con- 
 tradiction to any assertions they might advance (having 
 already witnessed the pretended ill effects of abrupt be- 
 haviour to the young lady.) Mrs. N sent word, by 
 
 the messenger, she was at her dinner, and " as soon as 
 she had done, and cleaned up, she Would come in." 
 Shortly after this, she made her appearance. My in- 
 dignation was now greatly excited at the attempt to en- 
 trap and to impose upon me; however, I kept silent, and 
 listened to what they had to say. To shew the contrast 
 between this woman and Miss JVPAvoy, I must give a de- 
 scription of her person, which is altogether above twice 
 as large as that of Miss M*A . She appears to be be- 
 tween 50 and 60 years of age, With the strongest marked 
 physiognomy I ever saw ; very dark complexion, and one 
 eye-ball completely turned in. I cannot blame the wo- 
 man for her unfortunate appearance, particularly as I 
 have a cast in one of niy own eyes; but I give you this 
 sketch to shew the contrast, as you know Miss M*Avoy 
 is a most delicate and sickly looking girl, — and that I 
 could not have erred, through a deceptio visus, as con- 
 jectured by my medical friend. She said she was ready 
 to swear, that it was she who held the child, but did not 
 appear to be certain as to the day. Miss M'Avoy told 
 us, she had been luminous, or transparent, a few day^ 
 before, but could not then exhibit her alleged powers. 
 With sensations I need not describe, I was glad to leave 
 the house ; and, when in the street, t told Mr. Dale, that 
 if it was possible, I was more firm in my belief that Mis.^ 
 M'Avoy was tlie person I saW with the infant. Mr. D. 
 said he wished me to be convinced of Miss M'Avoy hav- 
 ing (he powers ascribed to her, and that I should have 
 the earliest intimation and opportunity of witnessing the 
 wonderful gift she occasionally has ; but, that if she 
 knew I still persisted in what I had asserted, no future 
 interview could possibly take place between us. — Since 
 this, I have written to Mr. Dale, informing him, he is at 
 perfect liberty, to state to the parties my opinion of them, 
 as I have not the least inclination to visit the young lady 
 again. I am far from thinking my friend, Mr. D. hag 
 
so 
 
 connived, in anyway, at this plot ; but fear he his misled 
 by his enthusiasm in the cause.^ 
 
 At the moment I saw Miss M'Avoy, in the situation 
 before described, on the 24th September, 1 told Dr. 
 Jardine of the circumstance ; and my surprise, after 
 what her mother had just before stated, that "her 
 daughter was very ill, up stairs," &c as related in my 
 letter to Mr. Sandars. The doctor, no doubt, recollects 
 my having: done so : I could have no motive in stating- a 
 falsity. — Why did they not contradict it at the time? 
 
 But, Gentlemen, if any further proof of my accuracy 
 be necessary, I could, if I thought proper, give the name 
 of a lady, who declares she heard Mrs. Hughes bid her 
 daughter go into the kitchen, and take care of the child. 
 — and she went accordingly : soon after this, 1 saw her 
 in the passage. 
 
 The parties, I understand, are beginning: to work 
 upon those they consider their enemies by piece-meal ; 
 but they shall neither make a tool, nor a fool of me, in 
 this very absurd business. As to voluntary oaths, they 
 never appear to me to rank in the first order of evidence ,• 
 and the case must be bad indeed, where they are offered 
 as substitutes for facts ; it looks as if the parties had so 
 involved themselves in the gulph of credulity, that to 
 return were worse than to go on. 
 
 1 am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your's, &c. 
 
 Jno. Turmeau. 
 
 Bold'Sireet, Jan. 22, 1818. 
 
 To (he Editor of the Liverpool Saiurday's Advertiser. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 As the extraordinary powers attributed 
 to Miss Margaret M*Avoy of this town, have lately at- 
 tracted the attention of the public in an uncommon 
 degree, permit me to send you a fact which has lately 
 
 I have reason to thiuk Ut. Dale's application to Mr. Turmeau, wjis not 
 suggested by Mrs. Hughes or Miss M'Avoy. 
 
21 
 
 oceured, and which, I think, must silence the scepticism 
 of the most incredulous. Two ladies of this town, whose 
 habits of rigid veracity and cautious inquiry are well 
 known, and whose names will be left with your publish- 
 ers, in order to satisfy any doubts which may arise, went 
 lately to the house of this phenomenon, impelled by that 
 curiosity which has now become universal. Fortunately 
 Miss M's marvellous powers, which are known to be 
 sometimes fluctuating and capricious, were that day in 
 their highest perfection, and the following experiment 
 was accurately tried. One of these visitors stood behind 
 the young lady's chair and pressed down her eye-lids 
 with both her hands, so closely that it was a physical im- 
 possibility for a single ray of light to enter. 1 may here 
 remark that no method of closing the eyes by any sort of 
 covering that can be devised, is half so eJBfectual as this, 
 for obvious reasons. The other lady then took up a 
 printed book of sermons which was lying in the apart- 
 ment, and which appeared to have just come in from the 
 bookseller's, as the leaves were not yet cut open She 
 opened it in a place where the leaves had been uncut, 
 and placed it before Miss M'Avoy, (her eyes still closed 
 as above described), who read several lines in it without 
 hesitation. The lady then took a written note out of her 
 pocket, which had been received that morning, and Miss 
 M. also read that without any other difficulty than what 
 arose from the badness of the hand writing. 
 
 This experiment, which can be ascertained on oath, 
 seems so decisive as to the power possessed by Miss M. 
 of reading by the touch alone, that I am not aware of 
 any possible way in which it can be controverted. 
 
 I am, &c. your's, 
 
 T. S. M. 
 
 Rev. E, Glover's Letter to Dr. Renwick. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 You have so frequently solicited me 
 to give you my observations upon the extraordinary 
 case of my friend Miss M*Avoy, that I can no longer 
 withhold them, and must apologize for not having com 
 
g8 
 
 phed with your request earlier; but my great occupa- 
 tions did not allow me time. 
 
 X cannot too much applaud the zeal and perseverance 
 you have manifested in the investigation of this most 
 important case ; and 1 will add the candour with w^ich 
 you have conducted it. It is a case, which for the pub- 
 lic information, or for the public good, ought to be 
 thoroughly investigated, and the result authentically 
 substantiated. Under this impression I have been glad 
 to find the opinion, which yoy and I entertain, has been 
 warmly opposed, and objecfions raised. This has given 
 us the opportunity of re-considering the grounds on 
 which we originally founded our opinions, has suggest- 
 ed to us experiments, which our own conviction would 
 have thought unnecessary, and thus given us a confi- 
 dence in our opinions, which, without such oppo- 
 isition, we should scarcely have dared to entertain. For 
 my own part I do not hesitate to declare uncondition- 
 ally, my firmest conviction that she is perfectly blind, 
 and possesses a tact which enables her to read, distin- 
 guish colours, &c. &c. It will be unnecessary to enu- 
 merate the details which have brought my mind to this 
 conviction. But I will say it is a conviction I cannot 
 get rid of, without giving up the evidence of all my 
 senses. It either is true as we have stated, or it is the 
 greatest fraud that ever was attempted to be practised 
 upon mankind; between these extremes in the present 
 instance, there can be no alternative. Now I have so 
 good an opinion of my own underslanding, that if the 
 jatter were the case, I should have discovered it, aided 
 as I have been with the assistance of so many others, 
 enjoying the singular opportunity of seeing her daily, 
 through the progress of thi* extraordinary and long 
 sickness — and having used every diligence, and thought 
 much to bring my mind to the truth on so curious a fact. 
 I will add, that the frieudahip.she has towards me, the 
 confidence you have so frequently observed her to place 
 in me,, the gratitude she feels for the religious instruc- 
 tion she has received from me, the sincerity, with which, 
 under her awful situation, she must converse with one 
 who is preparing her to appear before the God of Truth, 
 all these circumstances put together, must, in my hum- 
 ble opinion, place fraud beyond the possible range of. 
 human delinquency, even if there were an object to be 
 gained by it, which, in the present instancCj there is not^ 
 
28 
 
 I have thus sent yon my opinion, aooompanied with 
 a statement of a ffw experiments which my brother 
 and myj^elf made lately. You are at liberty to use 
 all or part of this note, as it may please your- 
 self. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Your's most sincerely, 
 
 Edward Glover. 
 »ept. 2nd, 1817. 
 
 I)r. J, Mackenzie's Letter to Dr. Renwick. 
 
 pear Sir, 
 
 I oug:ht to have returned you my thanks 
 at an earlier period, for the readiness with which you 
 tnet my request to be prpsent at my visit to your inter- 
 esting- patient, Miss JVl'Avoy, on the 29th of September 
 last ; and to express to you how perfectly satisfied I felt 
 with the full account you and the other Medical Gentle- 
 men in attendance then gav e me of her disease, as well 
 as with the conclusiveness of the experiments made in 
 my presence, to prove the extraordinary powers of 
 touch, developed, in the proirress of its varied symp- 
 toms ; I had but one motive for postponing this expres- 
 sion of .my per.-^onal obligation to yourself and collea- 
 gues, for your attention and liberality of conduct ou 
 that occasion. It was not a scruple of doubt in my 
 mind, as to the reality of what 1 had seen, nor yet a 
 Su';^pieion of imposture on the part of the artless, inge- 
 nuous, unfortunate patient, subjected to trial ; — for the 
 extremes of scepticism and credulity I hold in equal 
 contempt, — as qualities which belong to the weak or the 
 wicked, and are alike fatal to truth : but a desire to see 
 your Narrative of this Uv^ique Case, which was at that 
 time announced to be in the press, and thus have it in 
 my power to satisfy myself as to the whole evidence, 
 statement and facts. That satisfaction is now complete. 
 Your Narrative is before me ; it is just what it ought to 
 
24 
 
 be, an honest record of the facts ; and so far as I have 
 been eye-witness to these, I can bear the most unqua- 
 lified testimony to the correctness of its details. Indeed 
 the facts are irrefragable ; no man can deny these, who 
 has seen them, without rejecting the grounds of all hu- 
 man testimony — the evidence of the senses. If such a 
 man there be, his mind is past ail the powers of convic- 
 tion ; his reason prostituted to the sordid passions, or 
 lost in the abyss of universal scepticism. 
 
 You have abstained from theorising on this case, and 
 in that have shewn your discretion as well as judgment. 
 The Physiologist will undoubtedly consider the facts 
 already established among the most important data 
 that have hitherto presented themselves to his contem- 
 plation, as illustrative of some of the obscurest laws of 
 animal life, particularly those of the nervous system, 
 although their application may as yet be premature. 
 Your patient's case is extremely complicated ; the ra- 
 vages of disease are already extensive ; the indications 
 of cure are uncertain ; the crises that have hitherto taken 
 place, whether favourable or otherwise, appear to have 
 resulted from the determination of morbid action to or- 
 gans so very essential to life, that any material injury to 
 their structure must prove fatal to it; as for example, 
 to the cerebral and abdominal viscera ; consequently, no 
 prognosis can be hazarded in the present state of the 
 case with a shadow of certainty. The disease is still in 
 progress, and your labours by no means at an end. — 
 Proceed in the plan which you have so judiciously 
 adopted, of accurately observing, and faithfully record- 
 ing the phenomena as they arise. You will thus accu- 
 mulate facts valuable to the science of life, and establish 
 a name which neither the malignity of selfishness, nor 
 the philosophy of doubt can ever undermine. With 
 my best wishes for the improvement of Miss M'Avoy's 
 health, and your final success, believe me to be. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your much obliged, and 
 
 very faithful servant, 
 
 John Mackenzie. 
 nth November, 1817. 
 
26 
 
 Mr, Samuel Berey^s Letter to Dr. Renwich. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Agreeable to your request, 1 hand 
 you the following particulars, which occurred on my 
 visit to Miss M*Avoy. My mind being previously pre- 
 judiced against Miss M*Avoy, I thought it probable that 
 she might be acquainted with the feel of different sub- 
 stances, to which she had been accustomed ; therefore I 
 inclosed some coloured worsteds in two glass tubes, and 
 sealed them at the ends, with different coloured wax, 
 (which tubes I have sent herewith for your inspection.) 
 I also prepared some green and yellow sympathetic ink, 
 with which I wrote upon slips of paper ; and which 
 writing was invisible when dry. On the 23d of Septem- 
 ber last, I accompanied a party, who had permission to 
 
 wait upon Miss M'A ; when introduced to her, she 
 
 complained of indisposition, but seemed wishful to gra- 
 tify our curiosity, and permitted us to try experiments 
 on the power she apparently possesses, of distinguishing 
 colours by the feel. She had the goggles put on, whieli 
 appeared to me to be a most effectual mode of prevent- 
 ing her from seeing, if she possessed any power of that 
 kind, for on previously trying them upon myself, I 
 found the light completely obscured. A printed book 
 was first presented to her, which she tried to read, but 
 could not tell a letter, but after composing herself a few 
 minutes, she told us the colours of our watch seals, by 
 rubbing her fingers upon them; and also told which 
 were glass, and which were stones. I then placed in 
 her hand, one of the glass tubes, (which I had kept in 
 my pocket,) but she could not tell the colours, nor in- 
 deed the substance she felt, as she asked was it a piece 
 of brass? She said the power had left her; however, a 
 short time afterwards, she told the name marked with 
 ink, upon a pocket handkerchief, and the colours of a 
 silk handkerchief, and traced the edge of the pattern 
 printed thereon, with a pin. I then tried her again 
 with the glass tubes, when she immediately told the co- 
 lours contained in them, in the order they were placed, 
 bypassing her fingers over them, and also the colour of 
 the sealing wax at the ends, without the least mistake ; 
 she also told the hour, by passing her finger over the 
 glass of a watch ; she read several v/ords in a book, and 
 
26 
 
 ihe directions of several letters, and told the colours of 
 our coats, by feeling the cloth. I gave her a blank slip 
 of writing paper, requesting her to try if she could read 
 the writing upon it, but she said she could not feel any. 
 I then gave her one of thfe slips fi^rote upon with sym- 
 pathetic ink, she said there was writing upon it, but it 
 was so extremely faint, that she could not make it ou|, but 
 she found out one letter, which she called T — I marked 
 the part where she said the letter \Vas, and when I return- 
 ed home, on warming the paper, I found the letter was 
 /, a mistake easy to be made, the letters being so much 
 alike. 
 
 Sev^eral of the above experiments were repeated, with 
 the same result, her eyes being covered with a silk hand- 
 kerchief, instead of the goggles. In these experiments, 
 I am tjertain that Miss M'Avoy was not prompted by any 
 person, nor do I think it possible that she could have any 
 assistance from her eyes. Mr. Bainbridge^and Mr. John 
 Leigh, werie present when the above experiments were 
 tried, to whom I beg leave to refer you for any further 
 particulars which may have escaped my notice, and I have 
 no doubt but they will confirm the above statement. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Your's very respectfully, 
 
 Liverpool, 17 th Feb. Sam. BEREt; 
 
 1818. 
 
 The Letter of Mr. S. Peacock, Surgeon, Upton Cheshire^ 
 to Dr. Renwick, Hanover- street, Liverpool. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 The inclosedt is a correct statement 
 of the experiment with the watch. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 S. Peacock. 
 Upton, Juhj2^, 1820. 
 
 * This Gentleman and Mr. Bainbridge were appointed to examine Miss 
 M'Avoy, by the members of a Club who meet occasionally at the Old Swan, 
 near Liverpool, to decide a wager laid upon the subject of Miss M'Avoy, by 
 Mr. Latham of Wavcrtree, with Mr. John Leigh of Liverpool. It was decided 
 by these Gentlemen agiiinst Mr. i ,atham. 
 
 ■f Not having seen Mr. Peacock for some time, I wrote to him, inclosing a. 
 printed copy of the K.xperiment he had stated^ to which the above letter is the 
 answer. See page 202. 
 
27 
 
 Mr. Evanses Letter to Dr. Renwick. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I visited Miss M'Avoy with Mr. Thomas. 
 You and another gentleman were present. Miss M'Avoy 
 was in bed, and recovering from a severe attack. She 
 distinctly told different colours, and also described some 
 watch- papers. A book was then placed under the bed- 
 clothes, which covered her up to her neck, and opened 
 oh her breast, wheti she read a few lines with her fin- 
 gers. When the book was withdrawn, the words were 
 found correct. On this occasion I placed under the 
 bed-clothes, without the possibility of her seeing even 
 what I conveyed there, a watch-paper of variegated 
 colours. She distinctly, and to our astonishment, named 
 every colour. A book was placed in the same situation, 
 and with her fingers she read a line or two, which on 
 examination we found to be correct. 
 
 Wm. Evans, Surgeon. 
 Marble- street^ Liverpool. 
 August 7, 1820. 
 
 The Rev. H. Brewer's Letter to Dr. Ren^ick. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 In answer to your inquiries respect- 
 ing Miss M'Avoy, I am happy to inform you that since 
 my first acquaintance with her, which took place in 
 April of last year, and which feontinued to the time of 
 her death, I constantly experienced the greatest can- 
 dour and frankness of disposition. Indeed from all 
 that I could discover during my frequent visits, I con- 
 ceive that she was utterly incapable of every species of 
 deceit and imposition. 
 
 With vei-y great respect, 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 H. Brewer. 
 Edmnnd'Btreet, 2ith August, 1820. 
 
3Iade upon this Case before Death, 
 
 I SHALL make a very few observations upon the 
 foregoing case ; and, until a termination of the disease, 
 under which Miss M'Avoy labours, which may be 
 esteemed decisive, takes place, I shall remain at my post, 
 attending to it with all due care, that the public may 
 ultimately be in possession of those facts which may 
 tend more fully to elucidate It. 
 
 I have already stated that from the history of the case, 
 I was of opinion that compression of the brain actually 
 existed at the time of my first visit in June, 1816 ; that 
 convulsions and even blindness might be reasonably 
 expected to ensue. Indeed it is probable from double 
 vision having been observed three years before this 
 period, that the optic nerve was not at that time in a 
 perfect state of health ; and from a very early age the 
 eyes had been subjected to repeated inflammation, and 
 consequent weakness. 
 
 '^he disappearance of the oedema from the lower ex- 
 tremities, the scarcely perceptible fluctuation in the 
 abdomen, the increase of pain and throbbing in the 
 head : and the giddiness which followed, led me to sup- 
 pose that fluid was collected somewhere between the 
 uiembranes, or within the cavities of the brain. T feel 
 myself justified in this opinion by the authority of Mor- 
 gagni, Bonetus, and other writers, who had examined 
 the bodies of persons, in whom convulsions and death 
 followed the sudden disappearance of dropsical swel- 
 lings. In many of these cases fluid was found in the 
 ventricles, or between the meninges of the brain, in a 
 greater or less quantity, but death generally occurred 
 before the fluid could make its way through any artifi- 
 
so 
 
 cial outlet. The case related by Valsalva, and quoted 
 in the Narrative from Morgagni, of a sheep affected 
 with water in the head, is somewhat analogous to that 
 of Miss M^Avoy ; and it is probable had the sheep not 
 been destroyed it might have been relieved from the ac- 
 cumulation of fluid by its discharge from the brain, 
 through the eroded part of the os Ethmoides, which 
 lies under the mamillary processes, affording in 
 time a free passage from the cranium to the nostrils ; for 
 it appeared the commencement of this erosion of the 
 bone was occasioned by the diseased state of the brain, 
 or by the continual dripping of an acrimonious fluid =^ 
 
 Doctor Baron, of Gloucester, has given an account 
 of a ease somewhat similar in a child, who died after- 
 wards from water in the brain. He had not an oppor- 
 tunity of examining attentively, the ethmoid bone, but 
 he easily passed a probe through it into the nose, from 
 which passage the fluid most probably escaped, in the 
 sudden manner he has described. t Instances have oc- 
 curred also where artificial openings have been made 
 in the heads of children, affected with hydrocephalus, 
 which allowed of the free discharge of a considerable 
 quantity of fluid. Dr. Baron mentions one instance, in 
 which the tumour had been twice punctured, but the 
 event of the disease had not then been ascertained. Dr. 
 Formby, of this town, attended a patient labouring un- 
 der this disease, in which the tumour was punctured by 
 Dr. Vose, and a good deal of serous fluid evacuated, with 
 temporary benefit to the child ; but it afterwards died. 
 
 It has been supposed the fluid which passsed down in 
 the case of Miss M'Avoy, might have been collected in 
 some tumour, or hydatid at the back of the nose, or in 
 the gullet ; but I have already said it was scarcely pos- 
 sible a tumour could have existed in that situation, con- 
 taining even any moderate quantity of fluid, without 
 being before perceived by its effects in breathing, or in 
 swallowing ; but nothing of this kind took place. 
 
 The quantity of fluid discharged, from the afternoon 
 of the 12th to the morning of the 16th of June, 1816, 
 
 • Sheep are very subject to this disease, and the Shepherds often puncture 
 the tumour if it point externally, and sometimes with success. 
 
 + Vide London Medical and PhysicalJournal, vol. xxxviii. page 464. 
 
91 
 
 must have been immense, as it was passing down into 
 the stomach almost incessantly, so as hardly to allow 
 her time to draw her breath. It might almost be calcu- 
 lated from the circumstance of seven ounces having 
 been obtained at two efforts to expel it in a less space of 
 time than one minute. Indeed, it would almost appear, 
 as if its expulsion from the head, after it first began to 
 flow, had followed its secretion in nearly an equal ratio. 
 The fluid, which escaped in very small quantity, from 
 the nostrils after the two following attacks of convul- 
 sion, was of a more glairy nature than that of the first 
 discharge, resembling in tenacity, colour, and consis- 
 tence the albumen ovi, or the fluid generally observed 
 to be contained in hydatids. The fluid collected in ve- 
 ry small quantity, after the convulsions in Nov^ember, 
 J817, was much the same as that which was at first dis- 
 charged ; and the slight discharge which took place from 
 the ear, the day after her alarm from the chimney tak- 
 ing fire, was similar, from the description given of it, to 
 the two discharges from the nose. Since this period, 
 no fluid has passed from the head that we are aware of. 
 
 Tumours have appeared in the side, in the neck, and 
 upon the os sacrum, extending to both hips. Fluctua- 
 tion has been repeatedly felt in the latter part ; but the 
 very acute pain which took place upon pressing the tu- 
 mour in the left side, in the slightest manner, prevented 
 us from ascertaining its exact nature, situation, or extent: 
 hut from its subsidence after the discharge of purulent 
 matter with the urine, it may be naturally supposed to 
 have extended to the region of the kidneys. In the last 
 discharge which took place the quantity was much more 
 considerable than before ; the swelling under the clavi- 
 cle disappeared ; that, in the lower part of the back re- 
 mained nearly stationary, except when the discharge from 
 the leg was more considerable ; but the pain in the side 
 was so much relieved she could bear moderate pressure 
 with the fingers, on that part of the tumour, which be- 
 fore did not allow them to pass lightly over it without 
 bringing on much uneasiness. 
 
 She complained of pain extending from the occiput 
 along the spine, and pressing upon it gave her considera- 
 ble pain, caused her to shrink, and most probably this af- 
 fection of the spine occasioned her inability to walk or 
 stand up erect without support. After the last discharge 
 had taken place, she felt herself so much better, thaj; 
 
32 
 
 she was carried into the garden, and remained there for 
 two or three hours at a time, as the weather was ex- 
 tremely fine. She named the colour of two fluids, but 
 not so readily as I have seen her do it before. Was un- 
 covered. Notwithstanding; the fineness of the weather, 
 she caught cold and was attacked with symptoms of 
 Pneumonia, for which she was bled repeatedly ; but, al- 
 though relieved from the more violent symptoms, the 
 cough continued for some time. 
 
 The catching in the breathing and the convulsiv^e 
 motion of the diaphrag^m became occasionally so violent 
 that we found it necessary to have recourse to vene 
 section more frequently ; and the blood which was 
 drawn generally appeared cupped, buffy, or both. The 
 quantity was proportioned to its effects upon the system. 
 It never exceeded sixteen ounces at one time, but gene- 
 rally only from five to eight ounces were taken away. 
 Sometimes the pulse was full and strong enough, at 
 other times it was weak and feeble, and her general 
 appearance contraindicated its necessity, but we de- 
 pended more upon the violence of the catching in the 
 breathing, and the convulsive motion of the diaphragm 
 than upon the pulse; or even her leucophlegmatic coun- 
 tenance, and she generally was reliev^ed from them after 
 the first or second bleeding, but latterly more frequent 
 and larger bleedings were required before these symp- 
 toms receded. 
 
 In some instances after taking about six or seven 
 ounces of blood, suspension of breathing came on, the 
 pulse continued to beat freely and fully, but if we 
 allowed the blood to flow for any considerable time 
 after the suspension took place, the pulse very soon 
 sank ; at other times syncope occurred, and some- 
 times as she was losing blood, she fell into a state of 
 insensibility.^ 
 
 • The distinction between this suspension in the breathing and syncope 
 consists in the circulation being continued in the former and not in the latter. 
 The application of the lightest feather to the nostrils or upon the mouth is 
 not acted upon by the breath, until she is recovering from it, nor is any stain 
 perceptible upon a looking-glass placed immediately over the mouth and 
 nostrils. The pulse is not affected materially when she falls into the state of 
 insensibility, which has most frequently occurred during the latter bleedings, 
 nor is the breath interrupted. The suspension of breathing, s.he says, comes 
 on suddenly, and I am aware only of it having existed by a peculiar twisting 
 *bout the heart, and a gasping for breath as l recover from it. The syn- 
 
S3 
 
 The degree of debility which sometimes fensued 
 alarmed us, but on the day following the bleeding which 
 produced this elfect, we found her generally better, 
 although these unpleasant symptoms often recurred. 
 After several bleedings the blood became very thin and 
 appeared more like bloody serum than blood. When 
 this was the case, the coagulum was small in proportion 
 to the quantity of serum ; sometimes it was partly fluid, 
 but generally firm enough in consistence.^ When we 
 did not venture to take more blood from her extreme 
 debility, and when the lower extremities were very 
 anasarcous, we had recourse to scarifications, by which 
 means a great quantity of serous fluid passed ofiF, 
 which seemed to answer the purpose of the bleed- 
 ing. When the discharge from this source ceased, 
 the bleeding was occasionally resumed, if the symp- 
 toms above mentioned came on with any considera- 
 ble degree of violence, and she seemed to bear the 
 loss of blood better now than in the more early 
 
 cope commences with a more general lassitude, and she feels a gradual sink- 
 ing of all her animal powers, until she loses every sensation, and when she 
 recovers she feels that languor consequent upon fainting. 
 
 The state of insensibility spoken of above, which is neither attended 
 with suspension of breathing nor syncope; continues for a longer period 
 and the pulse heats ; at first she is unconscious of all that has taken place, 
 but before her perfect recovery she has sometimes been aware of what was 
 passing, although she could not always speak or give an answer to a question. 
 
 I have sometimes supposed the suspension might have acted as sleep in 
 recruiting her debilitated frame, for it certainly appears from her own account 
 «s well as that of her mother, that she has obtamed little sleep for a very 
 long period. 
 
 • In a case of p1 eurisy, which occurred in my practice lately, I found it 
 necessary to order bleeding to a considerable extent. The patient lost in all 
 212 ounces; fifty ounces were taken away in the first twenty hours, at two 
 bleedings, and the remainder in the proportion of eighteen or twenty ounces, an 
 the patient could bear it. He had been afflicted four years ago with inflam- 
 mation and abscess of the liver- When I first saw him the fiver was consi- 
 derably enlarged ; the body had a generally jaundiced appearance ; he had 
 passed and was passing per anuni gall stones and purulent matter; was 
 frequently afflicted with cold shiverings and spasms. The first quantities of 
 blood which were drawn, exhibited a strongly cupped and bufFy appearance 
 upon the surface, but the inferior part was of the consistence of tar or treacle. 
 As the bleedings were continued, the blood assumed a more natural appea- 
 rance, but the crassamentum had still a strong butf upon it ; the fluidity was 
 exchanged for considerable tenacity, so that the red part of the blood might 
 be held upon the point of a knife. 1 mention this here as it would appear 
 that the fluidity of the blood in the first instance should not deter one from 
 continuing the bleeding, if, in a chronic case, symptoms indicating inflamma- 
 tion, and jiroduced by accidental disc«»se should occur. 
 
3i 
 
 bleedings. The catching: and oppression iii the breath- 
 ing made me fear adhesions might have taken place in 
 the cavity of the chest; but the cessation of these symp- 
 toms after the bleedings and scarifications induced me to 
 alter this opinion, and to imagine that some peculiar ir- 
 ritation acting on the nerves, supplying the neighbour- 
 ing parts, was the cause not only of these harrassing 
 symptoms, but of the convulsive affection of the di- 
 aphragm.^ 
 
 When these symptoms were brought on by attempting 
 to protrude the tongue, it would appear as if the com- 
 munication of the continued nerve of the ninth pair 
 which supplied partly the muscles of the tongue with the 
 eighth pair, the sympathetic, the cervical, and the phre- 
 nic nerves might account for their occurrence. Might 
 we not supposcj also, that the peculiar affection of the 
 sole of the right foot, which, when pressed upon, pro- 
 duced that violent and sudden retraction of it, and that 
 general perturbation of the system, were caused by the 
 nerves of the lower extremities derived from the lum- 
 bar nerves, having through these means, a communica- 
 tion with the numerous twigs from the continued trunk 
 of the sympathetic nerve, and from thence with the 
 brain ? 
 
 Many of the other symptoms which have occurred in 
 this case, may be explained from a similar connexion, 
 through the immediate nerves of the part, and their 
 communication with the brain. 
 
 The peculiar powers which excited our attention, have 
 not for more than two years been so conspicuous as to 
 enable us to make any more decisive experiments. Miss 
 M'Avoy employs herself, when tolerably well, in mak- 
 ing different little ornaments in sewing, and in netting. 
 She has occasionally named a colour or read a word^ 
 but comparatively with the powers described in the Nar- 
 rative, her success in these attempts is of little impor- 
 tance. When quiet and tranquil, not exposed to any 
 noise or alarm, and not suffering from any domestic 
 uneasiness, or more than usually severe pains of the 
 
 • The very irritable state of the brain of this female is demonstrated by 
 the eftect produced by any sudden noise or alarm, which often occasioned 
 ineensibility, or the suspension of breathing to take place. 
 
35 
 
 head or side, Miss M'Avoy has felt this power return 
 occasionally, in a slig-ht degree.'^ 
 
 Whether this diminution of the power be derived from 
 the morbid sensibility which almost constantly exists in 
 the left side and in the spine, and which has occurred 
 sometimes in other parts where tumours have appeared, 
 is uncertain ; but it is surely not a very improbable way 
 of accounting; for it, because we have many instances 
 upon record where the violent pain of one part of the 
 body has diminished the excitement in a more distant 
 part. Is it not probable, therefore, that this peculiar 
 power which appeared frequently to be exercised by the 
 points of the finders, and sometimes by other parts of the 
 surface of the body, in ascertaining colours, &c. should 
 be interrupted, or I may say almost annihilated by this 
 peculiar pain, which is always more or less present, 
 and which is excessively increased by the slightest 
 pressure ? 
 
 If she were an impostor, and possessed of vision, 
 there is no reason why she might not have continued 
 the imposition to the present moment ; for this pain in 
 the side would not prev^ent her from naming what she 
 saw. 
 
 Her opponents, indeed, say she could see when she 
 named colours, &c. but now that she can scarcely 
 name them, they may change their ground, and declare 
 her to be blind. t Indeed it appears to me very strong 
 evidence in her favour, that, under precisely similar cir- 
 cumstancesj(abating a few peculiar symptoms which have 
 occurred since the publication of the Narrative) and 
 
 The surface of her body is sensible to external objects passing over it ; 
 fcnd I have observed her to give me her hand, when I put out mine quickly 
 to take It for the purpose of feeling her pulse, but if 1 presented my hand 
 quietly without covering her hand, it remained in its position until ( 
 took hold of it. The interruption to her breath produced a more violent ef- 
 fect upon her general system, but this action upon the surface of the body 
 would seem to be derived from a similar cause, although in an inferior degree 
 vpon parts not so immediately connected with the principles of life. 
 
 + An assertion of this kind, I have no doubt will be made, but it will not 
 *^ i ™ in proving that she could see when she distinguished colours, &c. 
 and that she is now blind because she cannot name them so decisively. It is 
 well known that a variety of causes prevented the exhibition of her powers, 
 when in the greatest perfection, and these caus. s certainly acted more rea- 
 dily upon an irritable fibre, and, jiroducing a temporary suspension of them, 
 might lead us to suppose a more violent action in the same habit might still 
 further deteriorate, or entirely destroy this power, which was held upon so 
 ft-aal a tenure. - 
 
36 
 
 without any material change in her general character, 
 or in the appearance of her face and eyes, from what has 
 been described, she should possess in so inferior a de- 
 gree at the present moment, and for so very long a period 
 the power which had before so eminently distinguished 
 her, and which had been witnessed by so great a variety 
 of persons during a period of more than twelve mouths, 
 if it were not for some cause of this kind acting upon 
 the nerves, or upon the sensorium, which our limited 
 knowledge of these parts will not enable us to explain 
 more fully. 
 
 The indurated state of the abdomen and the torpor in 
 the chylopoietic viscera were relieved by the mercurial 
 and purgative medicines ; and they were occasionally 
 useful in the latter stages of the disease. 
 
 The freqnent bleedings kept the inflammatory symp- 
 toms under, which, if they had been allowed, their full 
 range must have destroyed her long ago. The scarifi- 
 cations were also useful for the same purpose, and in 
 taking away the serous fluid from the lower extremities, 
 they might probably prevent its accumulation in the ca- 
 vities of the brain. 
 
 OpiM'es generally produced rather a baneful than a 
 beneficial effect, except when given to relieve uneasinesss 
 in the bowels, and even then, if the dose were not very 
 small, she suffered very unpleasant effects from their ad- 
 ministration. She found little benefit from any other 
 medicines which were prescribed. 
 
 I shall, for the present, desist from hazarding other 
 opinions, as in the narration of this case it has been my 
 chief aim to detail the facts which have occurred ; to ab- 
 stain as much as possible from theory, and to leave the 
 public to draw its own deductions from them. 
 
Letter of Robert Harrison, Esq. to Dr. Renwick. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I send yoa a correct detail 
 of the appearances observed in dissecting the body of the 
 late Mis< iVPAvoy, as noted at the time by my old pupil 
 Mr. Udny. I consider myself as bound to be particular 
 in noticin<^ them, not only in compliance with your re- 
 quest, but in the expectation of observing some extraor- 
 dinary deviation from natural structure which might 
 explain those interesting phenomena which this case has 
 presented through the long and painful illness to which 
 you have paid such unremitting attention. 
 
 I feel it however my duty to observe, that in the many 
 examinations of dead bodies which I have made, I have 
 found very few in which disease had left such slight 
 marks, or in which there was less satisfactory informa- 
 tion gained by dissection. It is totally impossible for 
 me, from the confined data obtained by this observation, 
 to explain many of those unusual symptoms which were 
 manifested during life, and which certainly placed this 
 case in a state of uncertainty and obscurity, which 1 can- 
 not but sincerely regret, have not been so sufficiently 
 cleared by the examination after death, as to induce 
 me to intrude any observation with the view of elucidat- 
 ing a train of symptoms, the cause of which, as well as 
 many other medical and surgical diseases, not only re- 
 main concealed during life, but produce so little change 
 in those organs where they appeared to reside, that, not 
 even a trace is found after death. 
 
 In reply to your question, " fVhat did I conceive was 
 the cause of death?'' I must observe, that for the fore- 
 mentioned reasons, 1 feel that it would be almost pre- 
 sumption to give a positive answer. As far, however, 
 as my information permits me to speak with certainty, 
 I must say, that I did not notice any organic disease suffi- 
 ent to destroy life. I feel more inclined to attribute her 
 decease to excessive and long continued debility, the 
 primary cause of which I cannot attempt to explain. 
 
 You, who have watched the case from the commence- 
 
38 
 
 ment, can best attempt such an explanation, and to your 
 impartial judg-ment I shall leave the further investi^^a- 
 tion, satisfied that your only wish is to stale facts ex» 
 actly as they occurred, and to draw from them such 
 conclusions as may be perfectly legitimate. 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your's truly, 
 
 Robert Harrison. 
 
 Liverpool, Aug. 10, 1820. 
 
3S 
 
 OF THE 
 
 3Sotfi) of Mi^^ M"^^or), <^tatt^ 20 am 9ii ^Ujjuit, 1820, 
 
 TWELVE HOURS AFTER DEATH, 
 
 By Robert Harrison, A. B. M. R. C. S. L. & D. one of the Demonstrator 
 of Anatomy, &c. to the School of Surgery, in Dublin, before Drs. Ren- 
 wick and Jeffreys — Surgeons Thomas, Nairn, Morgan, Loftus, Davidson, 
 and Udny — Rev. Messrs. Brewer and Towers, and several Pupils of the 
 Infirmary. 
 
 As the body lay exposed on the table, the figure ap- 
 peared to have been formed in good proportion ; the 
 whole surface was extremely pale, having a pellucid ap- 
 pearance, there being no marks of red blood in any part. 
 Clear watery mucus was tlowing from the mouth and 
 nares. No tumour was observable about the neck, 
 chest, or abdomen. The spine, viewed posteriorly, was 
 straight and without deformity. Several hsemorrhoidal 
 excrescences protruded throu{>h the orifice of the anus, 
 bnt did not appear in a state of inflammation. The lower 
 extremities were remarkably swollen from anasarca, 
 wiiioh had so distended the integuments about the pel- 
 vis, as to give that region an appearance of preternatural 
 breadth, and had increased the size of the legs to a pro- 
 digious degree. A quantity of fluid was escaping from 
 incisions of the cuticle, made before death, a little 
 above the ankle. 
 
 We commenced the dissection by examining the con- 
 tents of the cranium, in exposing which, we remarked, 
 that the scalp was very easily detached from the bone, 
 and no blood-vessels appeared during the separation. 
 The cranium itself appeared unusually white and po- 
 lished ; the sutures were strongly united, and in some 
 parts almost obliterated. The sagittal line did not di- 
 vide the OS frontis, as it most frequently does, in the 
 female at the age of the present subject. 
 
40 
 
 The bony arch being separated by a circular incision 
 with the saw, great difficulty was felt in detaching it from 
 the dura mater, the connection being remarl^abiy inti- 
 mate. The internal surface of the skull bore the im- 
 pressions of several large vessels running in all direc- 
 tions, some of which were deeply furrowed in the bone, 
 which appeared very thick and strong, and felt extreme- 
 ly heavy, so much so, that had we met with it under dif- 
 ferent circumstances we should have considered it as 
 belonging to an adult male subject. 
 
 No unusual appearance was remarked on the outer 
 surface of the dura mater. We saw none of those emiuen- 
 cfes called glandulae Pacohioni, either on the membrane, 
 or in the longitudinal sinus, the walls of which we ob- 
 lerved, were thicker than ordinary; the caliber of the 
 canal was of the usual dimensions. On raising off the 
 dura mater, we perceived the arachnoid membrane, 
 where it covers the hemispheres of the cerebrum, to be 
 white and dense in some parts, and separated from the 
 surface of the convolutions and their interstices, by an 
 opaque gelatinous eifusion. This appearance was most 
 in the vicinity of the longitudinal sinus. 
 
 The pia mater appeared pale, as also the whole sur- 
 face of the brain ; very many large vessels were distinctly 
 ramified upon both sides, but they contained no blood, 
 and the entire aspect impressed us with the idea, that 
 the brain was less vascular than usual. The organ ac- 
 curately filled the inv^esting membrane, and to the touch 
 it was of the usual firmness. On cutting each hemis- 
 phere to a level with the corpus callosum, we remarked, 
 the almost total absence of blood-vessels : we did not see 
 any of those red dots which commonly appear so nume- 
 rous in a division of medullary or fibrous substance ; but 
 the centrum ovale appeared of a milk white, unstained 
 by any vascular appearance. The fibrous structure of 
 the corpus callosum, was unusually evident, and the 
 whole felt of a firm consistence. 
 
 The lateral ventricles were next opened. In their ca- 
 vities a small quantity only of fluid was observed. The 
 choroid plexus was very pale, biit could be expanded, 
 so as to shew its natural tissue free from any of those 
 changes in structure so commonly observed. The sep- 
 tum lucidum was very strong and the various eminences 
 throughout the whole extent of these chambers, appear- 
 
41 
 
 ed in a perfectly healthy state, and in prosecuting the 
 dissection through the different laminae in the usual or- 
 der, down to the third ventricle, we were all satisfied 
 that we do not commonly see their several parts so dis- 
 tinctly marked, and so exempt from disease. In the 
 third ventricle, the commissura mollis was very strong 
 and broad ; the different openings from their cavity 
 were free and distinct, and the pineal gland had nearly 
 the same appearance as in the young subject. On di- 
 viding the tentorium cerebelli, the whole surface of the 
 cerebellum presented the same pale aspect as the cere- 
 brum, but in other respects was healthy. On exposing 
 the canal which leads from the third to the fourth ven- 
 tricle, we found the cavity to be of its ordinary dimen- 
 sions ; but on its posterior wall we remarked some unu- 
 sual appearances; here the surface was not smooth, 
 white and polished, as in other parts, but appeared 
 rough and dark coloured ; this was owing to a small 
 fungus-like excrescence, which projected from the back 
 part into the cavity; it might be compared to a small 
 portion of fur, it did not appear vascular, was very soft, 
 and could be easily torn off from its connections; it was 
 not unlike a small portion of coagulable lymph, effused 
 in inflammation on a serous surface. On making an 
 incision into the hemispheres, they were of the usual ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 We next proceeded to examine the base of the brain, 
 and the course of the cerebral nerves. The olfactory 
 appeared healthy; behind these the union of the optic 
 nerves on the sphenoid bone was seen smaller than 
 usual, very thin and flaccid, as if the nervous substance 
 tlid not fill the investing membrane, a little pale fluid 
 being between the nerve and its tunic. The nerve, also 
 from this to the orbit appeared very thin snd flat, more 
 particularly the left, which was peculiarly flaccid and 
 delicate ; traced back to their connection with the Tha- 
 lami Optici and Tubercula quadragemina they appeared 
 as usual, broad and flat. The pituitory gland, and 
 Infundibulum were of natural situation ; and all the ce- 
 rebral nerves presented a healthy appearance, having 
 their usual attachments to the brain, and taking their 
 usual course ; all other parts on the base of the brain 
 appeared perfectly healthy, and the same remark passed 
 
42 
 
 on looking; on the divided surface of the spinal marrow, 
 which was cut in the cervical region. 
 
 On opening the orbit we observed them to contain 
 much loose and watery adeps ; the muscles of the eye^ 
 balls were very weak and pale ; the nerves were all 
 distinct, and the optic appeared of the usual size and 
 consistence ; on cutting- across both of these nerves, we 
 did not observe the red spot pointing out the situation 
 of the arteria centralis Retinae, so commonly seen in this 
 incision. On dissecting the eye-ball itself, all the parts 
 were distinctly seen in this beautiful organ, perfectly 
 free from disease. The lens and its surrounding trans- 
 parent fluids ; the retina and its investing tunics, with 
 the pigmentum nigrum, were satisfactorily seen in both 
 eyes On the retina the punctum aureum was very bril- 
 liant ; we could not see any of the branches of the be- 
 fore-mentioned artery, either on the retina or piercing 
 the vitrious humour. 
 
 THORAX. 
 
 Having elevated the anterior boundary of this cavity, 
 a considerable quantity of loose adipose substance was 
 seen covering the pericardium in greater abundance 
 than is usual at the age of this subject. The lungs im- 
 mediately collapsed very much, they being of a pale 
 grey colour, and of their usual spongy emphyseaiatous 
 feel. No disease was observed in their surface, or in 
 their substance ; and no adhesions existed between the 
 pleura pulmonalis and costalis. In each pleura about 
 four ounces of reddish serum were contained. 
 
 The pericardium was slightly distended, and fluc- 
 tuations could be distinctly felt ; on opening it, three 
 ounces of a straw-coloured fluid was discharged, and 
 the surface of the heart exposed. This organ had 
 much adeps upon it, and felt extremely flaccid, and 
 looked very pale. The serous membrane covering it 
 was rough in spots, particularly near the apex, where 
 many small white patches were obvious, and were pro- 
 bably the effects of inflammation once acute, but long 
 since subsided. The interior of the heart was natural, 
 and the diff'erent valvular apparatus perfectly uninjured. 
 The right ventricle was very weak; and the left, though 
 Uiicker, was very pale; both contained long coagula 
 
43 
 
 of blood. Aroand the semilunar valves of the Aortflj 
 slight traces of incipient disease were noticed. 
 
 ABDOMEN. 
 
 In this cavity, no appearance of disease was observ- 
 able, in the peritonasum, stomach, or spleen. The liver 
 was rather large and soft, of a pale yellow colour ; there 
 was no disease in its substance. The gall bladder was 
 full of dark coloured bile. The pancreas was healthy ; 
 also the mesenteric glands, the intestines, both small and 
 lar^e were distended with flatus. 
 
 The kidneys appeared very large, particularly the 
 right ; they were both pale, and contained more adeps 
 internally than is commonly observed. The several 
 capsules were as usual. The ureters and urinary blad- 
 der were perfectly healthy. The uterus was very small : 
 both ovaria were diseased, being enlarged to the size of 
 a hen's egg^ and containing an infinite number of small 
 transparent hydatids. 
 
 On exposing the vertebral column, by removing the 
 viscera and muscles in front of it, the whole was found 
 strong and free from disease ; the nerves also passing out 
 from it were of the regular yize and colour. 
 
 It was not deemed necessary to examiue the spij:i«l 
 «anaL 
 
45 
 
 3Iad€ after the Death of 3[tss M'Avot/, 
 
 The appearance upon dissection, and the detail of the 
 symptoms in the Narrative and Continuation of this 
 Case, will confirm the general position laid down by the 
 anatomist, who minutely examines the different parts of 
 the human body, that the seat and cause of disease are 
 frequently not found out by dissection ; and that the 
 cause which produced it is often very different from, 
 and incongruous with the symptom expressed. The 
 Physiologist must therefore expect to find this lesson 
 often repeated to him by the Anatomist. It proves how 
 easily he may err, when he wanders into the field of 
 conjecture. But still he may console himself in the re- 
 flection that sometimes enough may be discovered to ac- 
 count for many of the symptoms he has stated: and at 
 any rate he has performed a duty in detailing circum- 
 stances of a curious nature which he has seen, and which 
 other individuals have witnessed as well as himself, whe- 
 ther they can be accounted for or not. 
 
 Bichathas said, that physiology deprived of the light 
 which anatomy gives, proceeds only by chance. It was 
 for along time only nourished by the flights of genius : 
 a vain display which the imagination had decked out, 
 but to be overturned by the breath of reason. 
 
 The Physiologist deeply skilled in anatoiny does not 
 always obtain a proof of his reasoning being correct, 
 when he even makes the research with his knife. Can we 
 then wonder, that in an object so complicated, and so 
 minutely constructed as the human frame, that it should 
 be difficult to discover the origin of disease, or the im- 
 mediate cause of death ? And more particularly when 
 that disease may be seated in parts, in which their for- 
 mation would lead us to say, thus far thou shalt go 
 
46 
 
 «nd no farther. Yet, that reason which has been im- 
 planted into the mind of man, would not have been given 
 to him, had it not been intended he should exert it for his 
 own benefit, and for that of mankind in general. AU 
 though bounds seem to be set to our obtaining that inti- 
 mate knowledge of the structure and offices of the brain, 
 and of the diseases dependant upon its derangement ; 
 yet it r/iay not be impossible of attainment, when we 
 consider the rapid advances which have been made in 
 our knowledge of some of the component parts of the 
 human body ; of the peculiar actions of each, and of the 
 nature of the fluids secreted upon the various surfaces of 
 the different membranes which are subservient to life. 
 
 ' However long it may be before we acquire this infor- 
 mation, or whatever failures may occur to paralyse our 
 efforts in the pursuit of it, it is yet our duty to continue 
 the inquiry with all the perseverance in our power ; to 
 remark symptoms ; to give openly to the public our prac- 
 tice and opinions, and we may then content ourselves 
 that, if we have not obtained, we have at least deserved 
 success. 
 
 I shall now endeavour to follow Mr. Harrison in his 
 dissection, and to draw from it those inferences, which 
 may throw some light upon the particular symptoms 
 elicited in this case. 
 
 The general appearance of the body was leucophleg- 
 matic, or rather bordering upon that of tallow. The 
 integuments about the pelvis were so distended as to give 
 preternatural breadth to that region, which Mr. Harrison 
 attributed to anasarca. 
 
 When the incision was made upon the breast I did not 
 observe any material serous exudation ; nor was there 
 any fluid of moment in the abdomen, but it was remarked 
 there was more adipous substance than usual at the age of 
 this subject. The fluctuation which appeared to me and 
 others, filling the space between the last lumbar vertebra, 
 the middle of the sacrum, and the hips, did not seem (be- 
 fore death) to be so diffused, as in general anasarca, but 
 to be in some measure confined to the parts above-named, 
 and to be more deeply seated. Upon examination after 
 death, this fluctuation had become more diffused, and its 
 former local situation was nether perceptible to the sight 
 nor to be felt by the touch. 
 
 From the observation Miss M*Avoy made, that when 
 ^ke discbarge from the left I^g was more abundant, the 
 
47 
 
 swelling above mentioned became less, it appeared to me 
 there might be some communication between them 
 
 The anasarca of this leg had disappeared for some time 
 before this deeper seated fluctuation was noticed ; and 
 from the appearance the discharge had, when collected 
 upon the bread and milk poultice, I thought it very si- 
 milar, in consistence and colour, to the fluid subjected 
 to Dr. Bostock's analysis : this colour mig^ht however 
 have been caused by the union of serous fluid with the 
 milk used in the poultice ; for upon a deep incision being 
 made into the back of the leg after death, a considerable 
 quantity of fluid escaped, which was not tinged in this 
 manner, but had rather a darker appearance than tho 
 serum of the blood. 
 
 Under the circumstances it was not possible to exa« 
 mine minutely, the spinal colurnn, so as to see if there 
 vv^ere any outlet from which this fluid could have passed 
 down, where the fluctuation was felt upon the sacrum 
 and between the hips Dr. Baillie has lately observed, 
 that if there be serous effusion between the membranes of 
 the brain, a portion of the serum may fall into the cavity 
 of the the cavertebralis, and press upon the lower part of 
 the spinal marrow. In this case we might easily ac- 
 count for the loss of power in the lower extremities, if 
 such pressure existed; but if necessary we might have 
 recourse to the state of the brain itself, where the effects 
 of injury were certainly evident. In paralytic affec- 
 tions often no trace appears in the brain to account for 
 them ; and yet, when they occur in a part of the body, 
 or in the extremities, and cannot be traced to any cause 
 existing in the immediate neighbourhood, or from local 
 injury, we have no other resource but to look for the 
 cause in the brain. Mr. Harrison did not observe any 
 opening internally ; but w^e could not break through 
 the bony coverings, so as to examine if there were any 
 outlet by which the first fluid had escaped. Its dis- 
 charge certainly took place, relieved the convulsions, 
 and a great quantity passed down into the stomach ; 
 was thrown up again, and a part which had not entered 
 the stomach on the fourth day, was obtained, and after- 
 wards analyzed by Dr. Bostock. 
 
 After the death of this patient, it was observed that 
 fluid came down the nose and out of the sides of the 
 mouth, as she lay upon her back ; but when turned upon 
 her face a very considerable quantity, which Mr. Har- 
 
 -^4_ 
 
48 
 
 rison calls a clear watery mucus, was flowing from the 
 mouth and nostrils. I regret we did not preserve some 
 of this fluid ; for it was in much greater quantity than 
 usually occurs, and appeared very much to resemble 
 that which was obtained after the first attack of convul- 
 sions. It might have been the more fluid part of that 
 eflfusion which had taken place upon the arachnoid 
 membrane, the traces of which were only observed by 
 a gelatinous appearance, which separated the brain 
 and its convolutions from a more close connexion with 
 this investing membrane. It may be remembered also 
 that a discharge took place through the nose and ear, 
 of a similar consistence to that which was observed upon 
 this membrane. It is also more reasonable to suppose 
 this to have been the case, than that it should have been 
 secreted in so great a quantity upon the mucous mem- 
 brane of the nose, because a peculiarity was observed in 
 this female, that she rarely blew her nose; and it was 
 therefore improbable, that so great a quantity of fluid 
 could have been secreted upon its surface. Her mother 
 informed me that if she were subjected to any domestic 
 uneasiness, a discharge now and then took place down 
 the nose, which was of so acrid a nature, as to excoriate 
 the adjacent parts; and it would seem not to have been 
 derived from the mucous membrane, but from a higher 
 source, even the brain, its ventricles, or investing mem- 
 branes. I have already noticed in my observations pre- 
 vious to the death of Miss M'Avoy, that from obtaining, 
 on the fourth day after the convulsions seven ounces of 
 this fluid in the short space of one minute, the quantity 
 eflused altogether must have been immense, and it must 
 have been liberated from the brain nearly in a ratio with 
 its quantum of secretion. To have contained this quan- 
 tity the brain, as well as the bones of the skull must 
 have been distended so as to have met the exigency. 
 This, however, could not happen in this instance, be- 
 cause death must have ensued, by the compression this 
 accumulation of fluid would have caused upon the brain 
 if it had not found an outlet. From the compacted state 
 of the sutures also, the cranium had become so firmly 
 united, as to render its extension, without absolute frac- 
 ture, impossible. 
 
 The anasarcous state of the legs and thighs had been 
 observed before at different times, and it sometimes 
 subsided. Previous to the first attack of convulsions, 
 
^ 
 
 the anasarca of the lower extremities suddenly disap- 
 peared.* 
 
 Upon my first visit Miss M*Avoy complained of vio- 
 lent pain in the fore and back part of the head, with a 
 throbbing^ and beating sensation. The vessels of the 
 tunica conjunctiva were filled with red blood, but she 
 suffered very little uneasiness from the action of light. 
 She was so much affected with giddiness, as to stagger 
 in walking across the room. With the left eye she could 
 scarcely distinguish any object; and with the right, for 
 several days previous to me seeing her, every object at a 
 distance appeared white, and those which were near 
 double. It would seem therefore, that this sudden dis- 
 appearance of the swelling from the lower extremities 
 had caused these symptoms; and we might reasonably 
 draw the inference of a metastasis having taken place, 
 and that this fluid had been diffused between the men- 
 inges, or deposited in the ventricles of the brain. 
 
 Convulsions certainly did occur, and had the brain not 
 been relieved by the discharge of this fluid death must 
 have ensued on or about the 12th of June, 1816, as we 
 left her in a most exhausted state, and without a proba- 
 ble chance of recovery. This recovery was however, 
 for the present obtained, and apparently, in conse- 
 quence of this discharge having taken place at the time 
 and in the manner mentioned in the Narrative. 
 
 * I have stated this translation of serous fluid not to be a very uncommon 
 occurrence. Indeed, m^ny cases are upon record, in which the fluid has sud- 
 denly disappeared from one part only to be deposited upon another, and some- 
 times to be absorbed and dissipated altogether. 
 
 Instances occur, where more deleterious fluids have been removed from their 
 excretive organs; even pus has been absorbed suddenly, and left hardly a trace- 
 of its previous existence. 
 
 The two following instances will corroborate this opinion: — Mr. Udny in- 
 forms me, that Mr. Wilmot, of Dublin, in his Lectures, mentions the case of a 
 gentleman (to whom he was called in,) who had been intoxicated the preceding 
 evening. He complained of great pain in the abdomen, with a wish of passing 
 his urine, but he was unable to do so: the bladder was distended to a very 
 unusual degree. Mr. W. went home for a catheter, and returned in half an 
 hour, when he found him in a state of coma: the tumour of the abdomen had 
 subsided, and in passing the catheter into the bladder, it was empty. He died 
 shortly after, and on dissection the ventricles of the brain were found full of 
 a fluid of a curious smell and ?"ppcarancc. 
 
 A gentleman, when attendiii?^ his medical studies in London, was scarcely 
 able to weilk, in conijcquence of a bubo which had suppurated, was nearly as 
 big as his fist, and the skin appeared of that colour and thinness, he thought it 
 must burst in the night : bat to his astonishment, in the morning, not a trace of 
 it remained, except that the skin was a little more wrinkled on the one side than 
 on the other t He continued the course of medicine he wa^ before pursuing, 
 arid never felt any inconvenience afterwords* 
 
50 
 
 iThe different attacks of convulsion were several timejf 
 relieved, either in a similar way ; by the discharge of a 
 g:elatinous fluid through the nose; by profuse perspira- 
 tion ; or by the appearance of the catamenia. Once a 
 slight discharge took place (of a gelatinous fluid) from 
 the ear. 
 
 Had she been permitted to survive a little longer, it \s 
 probable one of the former results might have happened 
 again ; for the legs and thighs were very much distended 
 with serous fluid ; and although the scarifications caused 
 at times a very considerable discharge, it was not con- 
 stant, and a part of it during the period when it ceased, 
 might probably have been taken up by the absor- 
 bents^ whicTi being overloaded by this additional supply, 
 would naturally pour out through the medium of the ex- 
 Lalants this superfluity into some of the cavities; and as 
 it would appear this circumstance had taken place be- 
 fore, either in the ventricles, or between the meninges 
 of the brain, it is more reasonable to suppose that it 
 would be deposited again upon these, rather than upon 
 other surfaces. Death, however, seized its victim before 
 this event could take place ; therefore, we have only the 
 appearance of the white spots upon the arachnoid mem- 
 brane ; of the gelatinous fluid between the convolutions 
 and interstices of the brain ; the discharge of fluid from 
 the nose and mouth after death, and the circumstances 
 which had occurred upon the cessation of the different 
 convulsions to support the opinion originally formed, 
 
 The attachment of the dura mater to the cranium, 
 the very strict union of the sutures, and the strong im- 
 pression of large vessels running in all directions upon 
 it, some of which were deeply furrowed in the bone, 
 shew that at one time or other strong action of the ves- 
 sels had existed. The cranium itself was very thick and 
 strong ; felt extremely heavy, so as to give it the ap- 
 pearance of belonging to an adult male subject. The 
 dura mater was not altered in its structure. The glan- 
 dulas Pacchioni were not seen on the membrane, or in 
 the longitudinal sinus, the walls of which were observed 
 to be thicker than ordinary.'* 
 
 * It is curious that these glands were not visible. In what manner can we 
 account for their disappearance, or extinction : their uses are not certainly 
 Inown, and many physiologists think them oi' little imiwrtance; yet tliey are 
 alqiost always found on the insidcj of the Longitudinal siuus, and appear io he 
 connected with the o])ening of the veins: they generally apixfar of a rieshy co- 
 lour, projecting like iiiu:ipLc:s, or the efjgs of silk worms. 
 
61 
 
 Wherever a thickening of parts takes place we must 
 suppose disease to have existed ; and, from the walls of 
 this sinus being thickened, it most probably has arisen 
 from increased vascular action. 
 
 I have already spoken of the appearance of the arach- 
 noid membrane. The pia mater appeared pale ; also 
 the whole surface of the brain. Very many large ves- 
 sels were distinctly ramified upon both sides, but they 
 contained no blood, and the entire aspect impressed us 
 with the idea that the brain was less vascular than usual. 
 In ditferent cases, I have seen where patients have died 
 of hydrocephalus, particularly where they have been re- 
 lieved, and the disease has recurred, there is less ap- 
 pearance of vascularity, than where it terminates more 
 suddenly, This patient was bled to a considerable ex- 
 tent; at first in small, but latterly in larger quantities, 
 and the very last bleeding shewed signs of the necessity 
 of meeting, with the fullest effect, the urgency of the 
 symptoms. This blood was firm, tenacious, and mig-ht 
 be held for a considerable time upon the point of a 
 knife without shewing any marks of a weakened cohe- 
 sion of its particles. Indeed in the early bleedings, the 
 blood appeared sometimes much less tenacious. Since 
 the dissection some observations have been made, I 
 understand that the bleedings may have caused this 
 blanched appearance of the vessels of the brain, and 
 that we have pursued this plan of treatment to too great 
 an extent ; but I am satisfied if it had not been particu- 
 larly attended to, she would have long since died of the 
 consequences of inflammatory action. Her own feel- 
 ings, the amelioration generally of the symptoms after 
 each bleeding, and my own experience of the benefit 
 resulting from the practice in this case, will justify me 
 in the means I pursued. 
 
 In the latter bleedings, the force with which the blood 
 rushed out of the orifice, ev^en after the fillet was taken 
 off, is a poof that the stitch in the side produced violent 
 action in the heart and arteries ; and this increased action 
 must also have been transmitted to the veins. The feel- 
 ings of the patient herself, as to the relief afforded, is 
 the best comment upon the propriety of the practice. 
 
 The brain and cerebellum were generally healthy in 
 their appearance, excepting that they had a paler as- 
 pect upon their surface, and through their substance 
 
62 
 
 from th^ vessels not beiDg- so filled with red blood as is 
 usually seen in subjects where no long-continued affec- 
 tion of the brain has existed. 
 
 The first, second, and third ventricles appeared in 
 their usual state; but the fourth ventricle shewed marks 
 of disease. 
 
 This alteration of structure was probably owing to 
 the cause Mr. Harrison assigned, viz. " inflammation." 
 Could serous effusion have been produced by this cause, 
 and of such an amount as to have accounted for the dis- 
 charge of the fluid, which is supposed to have passed 
 down from the brain into the stomach, through the nose 
 and ear : and to have made a lodgement between the 
 hips, after passing down the vertebral theca : or, was it 
 only derived from the effusion caused by inflammation 
 of the arachnoid membrane, the remains of which were 
 seen in the gelatinous substance which appeared in the 
 convolutions and interstices of the brain? In whatever 
 way it was produced, it is certain some fluid existed, 
 was passed down into the stomach, through the nose 
 and ear, and was felt by ditix3rent individuals between 
 the hips. 
 
 The olfactory nerves had a healthy appearance ; behind 
 these the union of the optic nerves on the sphenoid bone 
 was seen smaller than usual, very thin, and flaccid, as if 
 the nervous substance did not fill the investing membrane, 
 a little pale fluid being between the nerve and its tunic. 
 The nerves also from this to the orbit appeared very 
 thin and flat, more particularly the left, which was pe- 
 culiarly flaccid and delicate. 
 
 On opening the orbit, much loose and watery fat was 
 observed. The muscles of the eye-ball were very weak 
 and pale. The nerves were all distinct, and the optic 
 appeared of the usual size and consistence, but on cut- 
 ting across both of these nerves, the red spot pointing 
 out the situation of the arteria centralis retinae, so 
 commonly seen on this occasion, was not observed, nor 
 were any of its branches discovered either in the retina 
 or piercing the vitreous tumour. The more than usual 
 quantity of adeps might be accounted for, from the cir- 
 cumstance that there was generally a predisposition in 
 this subject to theaqcumulation of fat, which might have 
 arisen from the quiescent state in which the body was 
 kept by her inability to move about. In this particular 
 
53 
 
 part of the body, its loose and watery appearance might 
 have been caused by the diminished excitement which a 
 state of blindness would naturally produce. Had sight ex- 
 isted, and the motions of the different parts of the eye 
 been properly exercised, thissuperfluity would have been 
 necessarily removed by the quicker action of the ab- 
 sorbents. 
 
 The muscles of the eye-ball were very weak and pale, 
 which has been supposed to have arisen partly from the 
 loss of blood, but when we consider the general relief 
 afforded by the bleedings, (which were never greater 
 than to meet the exigency of the case) the state of the 
 blood, with respect to its firmness and tenacity, in the 
 very last bleeding, we can hardly attribute the state of 
 these muscles to the detraction of blood ; for if this had 
 been the cause of their weakness and paleness, we might 
 have expected to have seen more imperfection in the 
 coats and humours of the eye, as well as in the muscles ; 
 instead of which, the membranes, humours, &c. of this 
 beautiful organ, even to the punctum aureum of Soem- 
 mering, were seen in a perfectly healthy state : they 
 could not all have existed in this state without a due 
 distribution of blood ; but in what way could the retina 
 have received a proper supply of blood, if its own artery 
 were obliterated? For the purpose of its mere existence 
 as a membrane, it might be supplied with sufficient 
 blood, by some small twigs from the ciliary arteries ; but 
 for that of vision, probably more would be required, to 
 give the minute branches of the nerve their proper nou- 
 rishment and sensibility. 
 
 It appears to me, that the weakened action of these 
 muscles arose from the loss of vision, which prevented 
 them from being exercised in a proper manner. If a 
 muscle be not brought into action for a long period, it 
 will become incapable of producing any of those moti- 
 ons which were natural to it ; and if an attempt be made 
 to recover the tone it has lost from disuse, a strongersti- 
 mulus will be required to bring it into action, and it must 
 be employed cautiously and frequently, to restore it to 
 its pristine vigour. The effects of convulsion were per- 
 ceived in this peculiar case, when it gave additional sti- 
 mulus to these muscles, and excited them into extreme 
 action; but when it ceased, the motion of the eye-balls 
 were probably still more weakened, because a too sud- 
 
H 
 
 den and strong excitement produces a great degree of 
 debility afterwards. 
 
 The functions of the retina could not be performed 
 by the nerve alone, because the nerves depend as much 
 for support upon the circulation of blood, as the blood- 
 vessels depend upon nervous influence for the con- 
 tinuation of their action. It has been observed that 
 the pupil of the left eye had fewer motions than the 
 right, and we find, from the dissection, that its nerve 
 was peculiarly flaccid and delicate. The opponents of 
 Miss M'Avoy, may of course, reason upon this general 
 healthy state of the eyes, as a proof that she possessed 
 the power of vision ; but they must at the same time re- 
 collect, that in amaurosis little alteration sometimes ap- 
 pears in the structure of the eye, its membranes, coats, 
 humours, or vessels. The optic nerve may not appear 
 altered in its structure, upon dissection, whilst its 
 powers were allowed to be so totally inert during life 
 as to produce blindness. If, however, in addition to 
 the obliteration of the central artery of the retina and 
 its branches, we find an altered structure of the optic 
 nerves at their union upon the sphenoid bone, as de- 
 monstrated by their smallness, thinness, and flaccidity ; 
 as if the nervous substance did not fill the investing 
 membrane ; a pale fluid intervening between the sub- 
 stance of the nerve and its tunic, which must ncQes- 
 sarily press upon that substance ; and the nerves af- 
 ter their division from this point to the orbit, being very 
 thin and flat, we cannot doubt that these appearances 
 m'ust have been caused by disease, and that of no small 
 moment. 
 
 If we consider this case in all its bearings, the symp- 
 toms which preceded Miss M'Avoy's blindness ; the con- 
 vulsions which followed ; the discharge of serous fluid 
 which removed these convulsions; her peculiar powers, 
 asexhibited in situations where sightcould have no influ- 
 ence ; the insensibility of the eyes upon exposure to the 
 rays of the vivid sun, or to the most brilliant colours of 
 the solar spectrum, thrown suddenly, and in all direc- 
 tions upon them ; a similar insensibility to the sudden ap^ 
 plication of any pointed, or other instrument ; her per- 
 fect indiflference upon a pistol being suddenly pointed at 
 her; the want of irritability in the cornea or ball of the 
 eye, when a probe or other substance was pressed upon. 
 
55 
 
 or passed over it and the pupil, we shall hardly require 
 the aid of disease to prove her blindness. 
 
 From these considerations I think a strong case will 
 appear in support of our opinion that Miss M*Avoy was 
 blind from the time specified in the Narrative, to th« 
 period of her death. 
 
 THORAX 
 
 The principal appearances in this cavity, were a consi- 
 derable quantity of loose adipose substance covering the 
 pericardium in greater abundance than is usual at the 
 age of this subject. 
 
 The lungs were healthy. There was not the least ap- 
 pearance of disease in them. No adhesions existed be- 
 tween the pleura pulmonalis, and costalis. 
 
 I have stated in my remarks previous to her death, 
 that the catching and oppression in the breathing made 
 me fear adhesions, which so commonly are seen in the 
 dissection of dead bodies, might have existed in this case 
 to a serious extent ; but the cessation of these symptoms 
 after the bleedings and scarifications, induced me to al- 
 ter this opinion, and to imagine that some peculiar irri- 
 tability acting on the nerves, supplying the neighbour- 
 ing parts, was the cause not only of these harassing 
 symptoms, but of the convulsive affection of the di' 
 aphragm. This opinion is confirmed by the dissection. 
 
 The symptoms of pneumonia which occurred in Au- 
 gust last, induced me to prescribe bleeding repeatedly, 
 and it has been often supposed (by the intelligent men 
 who saw her labouring under the effects of this disease) 
 she would have borne still larger bleedings at the time. 
 It was attended with a very harsh cough, which conti- 
 nued for a considerable time after the other symptoms 
 were relieved. In this case, however, no appearance of 
 former disease remained on the surface of the lungs, or 
 in its substance : yet a larger quantity of fluid appeared 
 in each cavity of the chest than usual, which might have 
 been produced by exudation upon a serous surface from 
 inflammation of its membrane. 
 
 It will be the business of more able anatomists than 
 
56 
 
 myself, and who have had more opportunities of inves- 
 tigating- the seat and cause of disease, (from dissection,) 
 to determine, whether by the active means which were 
 used to relieve inflammatory action, it might not be pos- 
 sible to prevent these appearances of diseased surface 
 which commonly occur where these means have not 
 been used in proper time. 
 
 The same observation will apply also to the disap- 
 pearance of all the tumours, previous to the death of 
 this patient, except that between the hips, which after- 
 wards gave the appearance of preternatural breadth to 
 them. 
 
 The peculiarsymptoms mentioned in the Narrativeand 
 in the Continuation of this Case, would lead me to sup- 
 pose we might trace the cause of many of them from the 
 state of the heart and pericardium. The fluid con- 
 tained in the pericardium was about four ounces: Mr. 
 Harrison says only three, but about an ounce was lost 
 in pouring it out from a cup into a phial, and nearly as 
 much was left in the cavity. The quantity taken to the 
 Infirmary, was exactly two ounces and a half. The ef- 
 fusion of this fluid marks a diseased action to have taken 
 place upon its surface, and most probably from inflam- 
 mation. 
 
 The accumulation of fat marks a diminution, or a de- 
 ficiency in the active powers of the heart. The appear- 
 ance of the serous membrane covering the heart indi- 
 cated inflammation to have existed, and it particularly 
 shewed itself near its apex. Mr. Harrison supposes this 
 to have long since subsided. The violent stitch she so 
 frequently felt, was indicative of present inflammation, 
 or, at least of diseased structure, which prevented the 
 functions of the heart from being properly performed. 
 The weakness of the walls of the right ventricle, might 
 cause the blood not to be propelled with its usual force, 
 and in its proper quantity, into the pulmonic artery, 
 and from this artery through the substance of the lungs; 
 and this weakened state maj- also account for that 
 peculiar symptom of oppression which was caused by 
 placing the hand so near the mouth as to intercept the 
 breath; because any sudden interruption to the re- 
 ception of atmospheric air into the lungs of so irritable 
 anhabitmusthave the effect of impeding the oxygenation 
 of that blood which is to be returned through the pul- 
 
57 
 
 monary veins, into the left auricle, then into the left ven- 
 tricle, and from thence into the aorta and its ramifi- 
 cations. 
 
 It is impossible to say when this inflammation of th« 
 membrane covering- the heart commenced. In Jane 
 1816, she complained of palpitation of the heart, and of 
 oppression in the breathing*, but at that time I looked 
 upon these symptoms as dependant upon the enlargement 
 of the liver, and upon the tense and incompressible state 
 of the abdomen. As these symptoms, after the use of mer- 
 cury, were removed in the course of that year, I think it 
 more probable they were symptomatic of the state of 
 the liver and abdomen, than that any active inflamma- 
 tion existed at that period in the heart or upon its invest- 
 ing membrane. 
 
 The appearances around the semilunarvalves marked 
 incipient disease, which might, at a later period of life, 
 have terminated in ossification. 
 
 It cannot be decisively known when this inflammation 
 of the investing^ membrane of the heart first commenced, 
 but it is probable it preceded the more violent symptom 
 of catching in the breathing. The convulsive motion of 
 the diaphragm might also have been derived from the 
 same cause. The connexion between the heart and 
 muscles of respiration, independent of any other cause, 
 will account for the first ; and (hat of the phrenic nerve 
 with the heart, will bear me out in the opinion, that the 
 latter symptom originated from this connection between 
 the heart and the diaphragm. 
 
 The fluid contained in the pericardium most probably 
 owed its origin to the inflammation of the surface of its 
 membrane, and many of the peculiar symptoms might 
 have been caused by the effects of this inflammation. 
 
 The heart is an organ of that active and important 
 nature, that the least alteration in its structure may lay 
 the foundation of serious disease; and we often see that 
 it proceeds in its course, until it terminate in some hor- 
 rible kind of death. If disease exist in itself, or in its 
 membranes, and that disease be only incipient, it may 
 occasion symptoms of a curious and indefinable nature. 
 Of this kind is the sensation she expressed of a cold ring 
 of iron placed upon the point of the heart,* and of the 
 cold drop of vcater falliug within the centre oi the ring-^ 
 previous to the stitch eoiiuiij^ ou. 
 
58 
 
 In what way are these symptoms to be accounted 
 for ? The catching- and oppression of the breathing, and 
 the convulsive afiectiou of the diaphragm, as the lungs 
 were sound, must have arisen from the state of the heart, 
 which however slightly diseased, might have produced 
 these peculiar symptoms through the medium of the 
 nerves communicating from that organ, with the mus- 
 cles of respiration and with the diaphragm. 
 
 Miss M'Avoy was occasionally subject to palpitation 
 of the heart, and any sudden noise or alarm frequently 
 threw her into a state of insensibility. The first symp- 
 tom may be derived from the same cause which pro- 
 duced the catching and oppression in the breathing, and 
 the convulsive affection of the diaphragm ; or from ner- 
 vous irritability. The latter-effect must have been owing 
 to the peculiarly irritable state of the brain alone. 
 
 It appears Miss M*Avoy was very backward in her 
 learning ; sewed very indifferently; and had litte acute- 
 ness in her perceptions previous to the discharge of the 
 fluid: but afterwards she learned every thing with ease, 
 sewed very well, and her perceptions were very acute. 
 These circumstances can only be accounted for from 
 some peculiar change having taken place in the state of 
 the braiu» She occasionally exhibited symptoms of 
 hysteria, and some persons, before the dissection, have 
 supposed the convulsions which afflicted her, to have 
 been hysterical, but this opinion does not appear to be 
 correct, as many of them came on without being attend- 
 ed with this disease. 
 
 Hysteria, is one of the most Proteus-like diseases we 
 are acquainted with ; but Miss M'Avoy seemed to en- 
 deavour to check any disposition to it in herself; and as 
 there were traces found of disease in the brain, we must 
 have recourse to it for an explanation of the cause of the 
 convulsions. 
 
 The peculiar sensibility of the fingers I have given 
 proofs of; but, it will not be easy to explain in what 
 way it has originated. It was only known to herself 
 about three months after her blindness came on. Could 
 it have existed before? And that, from the circum- 
 stance of her seeing at the time, this power was not 
 known even to herself. Or, is it not more probable that 
 the same cause which produced a brighter intellect, 
 than she before possessed, might have also given a 
 
59 
 
 great degree of sensibility to the nerves of the fingers, 
 and of some other parts of the surface of the body ? 
 
 ABDOMEN. 
 
 No disease appeared in this cavity, unless we attribute 
 to disease, the pale yellow colour of the liver, its great 
 enlargement, and its softness. I have little doubt the 
 liver had been diseased, and that the frequent use of 
 mercury had restored it to a more healthy state. The 
 general tension of the Abdomen was relieved in the ear- 
 ly period of my attendance, and apparently by the use of 
 the mercury and purgatives. 
 
 The mesenteric glands were supposed originally, to 
 have been affected ; or, whence these tumours in the Ab- 
 domen spoken of previous to my first visit? 
 
 It is a curious fact, that no tumour, or vestige of a 
 tumour, was observed in these parts on dissection, because 
 not only from the symptoms, but from the elevation of 
 the tumour above the surrounding parts it did ap- 
 pear to exist, and only subsided upon the discharge of 
 matter at dilfef-ent f}w:es through the bladder. From 
 what cause this appearance of tumour orginated, or 
 whence this matter was derived, will be difficult to ex- 
 plain ; but certainly the former was noticed by different 
 individuals, and the latter subjected to the test of expe- 
 riment, which proved its nature. 
 
 The kidneys were larger than natural, particularly the 
 right ; were both pale, and contained internally, more 
 fat than usual : the several capsules had suffered no 
 change. 
 
 Is it probable that the purulent matter passed off with 
 the urine could have been secreted in this organ, with- 
 out lea\ing a trace behind it? 
 
 The Psoas muscles were cut into, but there appeared 
 no remains of disease. 
 
 The ureters and urinary bladder were perfectly heal- 
 thy. The symptoms of dysuria and pain have probably 
 been caused by irritation only ; or some marks of disease 
 would have surely appeared. 
 
 The Uterus was very gmall. Both ovaria were dis- 
 eased, or enlarged to the size of a hen's e^^, and con- 
 tained an infinite number of small hydatids. The state 
 of the uterus may account for the suppression and al- 
 
 h 
 
60 
 
 tered appearance of the catrtmenia ; and it is probable this 
 affection of the uterus, and of the ovaria may have pro 
 duced that variable and unsettled state of the stomach 
 and bowels which so often affected her. 
 
 The entire case of this female is now before the pub- 
 lic, and it will jud^e how far the appearances upon dis- 
 section may enable us to account for her blindness, and 
 many of the symptoms which have occurred ; and whe- 
 ther the proofs, 1 have adduced, of her possessing pecu- 
 liar powers through the medium of her fingers, are not 
 gufificient to corroborate the statements originally made 
 in the Narrative and which were supported at the time 
 by the evidence of many other individuals. 
 
 F I N I S, 
 
 Kiernan, l*rinter, Liverpool. 
 
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 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNN 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHIIFORNIA 
 
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 iNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA