Mesmerism in India, and its practical application in surgery and medicine / by James Esdaile.

Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mesmerism in India, and its practical application in surgery and medicine / by James Esdaile. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    21/328 (page 17)
    On questioning her next morning, she could give no account of what had happened. She only remembered that she lay down, and that I soon made her very drowsy. She acknowledged that I mijrht have done with her whatever I chose, and expressed her conviction that had I ampu- tated a limb, she would have been unconscious of the operation. What a power, then, is this for evil as well as for good ! How foolish in people to expose themselves to the machinations of the wicked, by treating Mesmerism as a fraud or a delusion! It is a fact, proved by incontestable evidence; and capable of being applied to the relief of suffering humanity, or perverted so as to accomplish the designs of villany. As a clergy- man, I shall be happy to apply it, gratuitously for the relief of the sick, until medical men be- come convinced of the therapeutic value of Mes- merism, and introduce it into their practice. And for the encouragement of non-professional persons, who, like myself, ai*e anxious to investigate the truth, I am glad to be able to stat-e that a bene- volent bishop in England, and his amiable family, are successfully employed in relieving the afflicted: and that my friend Mrs. C. expresses the warmest gratitude for the benefit she has derived from my mesmeric treatment.