'She was born a slave, and continued a slave till she was about thirty-two years of age, and I about twenty-eight years old; and having paid for myself, and got a little money beforehand, I was provoked to purpose buying of her. Before this, she and her master had fallen out, and proposed to send her, and our first daughter, about three months old, away to the back countries; and how to do I did not know: to go with her I knew not where, or buy her at his price, brought me to a stand and while I was perplexed, there came a messenger to me, who said her master had carried the negro buyer with him from court, in order to sell her to him; but when they were about to count out the money, his daughter broke out and cried in such a distressing manner, for my little daughter, that it caused him to recant at that time; but he made two more attempts, but was misput most providentially. At the same time, her master and I were both on one class-paper, which made it very trying to me, to keep up true love and unity between him and me, in the sight of God: this was a cause of wrestling in my mind; but that scripture abode with me," He that loveth father or mother, wife or children, more than me, is not worthy of me;" then I saw it became me to hate the sin with all my heart, but still the sinner love but I should have fainted, if I had not looked to Jesus, the author of my faith: but I would remark, that at the very moment I was about to give up, the Lord appeared for my help, to my great surprise. It pleased almighty goodness, to give my wife's mistress that power which cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon; and she spoke with such concern of mind and said, "Oh do let Solomon have her; I have been afraid to speak, but I want him to have her, he appears to want to have her," and these words, with a few more I omit, were attended with such force to her master's mind, that he gave up with a whining tone, and said, "He may have her;" so I hired her, and took her away the same day. After the year was out I went to pay him his money for her hire, and it being on a meeting day, some friends there who saw me pay the money, said to me," you had better buy your wife at once;" her master answered, "I want him to buy her," then they insisted on knowing his price; he said, "a hundred dollars, and give in all the hire;" which was fifty dollars less than ever he had mentioned before: I then said I would undertake it: then they insisted we should have it in writing, and we had it so. Thus I entered purchase of my wife, one hundred and three dollars and a third, which is thirty one pounds Virginia money. When the articles were drawn, I desired the writer to put down what was paid, and what was due; and then went on working and paying, until I had paid all but forty dollars and fourpence.' pp. 25-27.

A well-written preface by Mr. Hurnard, a member of the Society of Friends, contains some further particulars of Bayley's life, and an attestation to the excellence of his character.

The details of the agonizing scene in which Bayley, after despairing of success, was enabled to purchase the freedom of his only son, who had been born in slavery, are of uncommon interest.

ART. XI. SELECT LITERARY INFORMATION.

The Rev. Alexander Low, A. M. of Clatt, Aberdeenshire, Correspondent Member of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, has in the press, A History of Scotland, from the earliest Period down to the middle of the Ninth Century; being the best Essay on the Ancient History of the Kingdom of the Gaelic Scots, the Extent of their Country, its Laws, Population, Poetry, and Learning, for which he gained the prize and most decided approbation of the Highland Society of London.

A volume of Sermons, by the Rev. Hugh M'Neill, A.M., Rector of Albury, will appear in the course of a few days.

In the press, A Course of Nine Sermons, intended to illustrate some of the leading truths contained in the Liturgy of the Church of England. By the Rev. F. Close, A.M. Curate of the Holy Trinity Church, Cheltenham.

In the press, Part IV., of Sermons and Plans of Sermons. By the late Rev.. Joseph Benson.

In the press, Memoirs, &c. of the late Rev. Stephen Morell of Norwich. By

the Rev. Mr. Binney, of Newport. 1 vol. 12mo.

The Rev. J. T. Becher, M.A. Prebendary of the Collegiate Church of Southwell, has published, Tables, shewing the Single and Monthly Contributions to be paid, the allowances to be granted, and the method of calculating at every period of Life: the value of the Assurances effected by Members of Friendly Societies, together with a System of Bookkeeping, recommended for the use of such institutions.

Early in July will be published, in one vol. f.cap 8vo., The Broken Heart, Legend of the Isles, with other Poems. By Edmund Reade, Esq.

The eight volumes of the British Anthology, with Mr. Westall's designs, will be completed early this month.

The Rising Village: a Poem, by Oliv. Goldsmith, a descendant of the Author of the Deserted Village, is just ready.

Mr. Westall's designs for Cowper's Poems, are newly engraved; they are (with the Poems) nearly ready.

ART. XII. LIST OF WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED.

BIOGRAPHY.

Memoir of the late John Bowdler, Esq. To which is added, some Account of the late Thomas Bowdler, Esq. Editor of the Family Shakspeare. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Aids to Reflection in the Formation of a Manly Character, on the several grounds of Prudence, Morality, and Religion, illustrated by select Passages from our elder Divines, especially from Archbishop Leighton. By S. T. Coleridge, post 8vo. 10s. 6d.

Essays and Sketches of Character. By the late Richard Ayton, Esq. With a Memoir of his Life, and a Portrait. post 8vo. 8s. 6d.

Precept and Example, in the Instructive Letters of Eminent Men to their Younger Friends: with short Biographs of the Writers. foolscap 8vo. 7s.

The Journal of Llewellin Penrose, a Seaman; the four volumes in one. 12mo. Ms.

POETRY.

The Vision of Las Casas, and other Poems. By Emily Taylor. f.cap 8vo.

65.

Songs of a Stranger. By Louisa Stuart Costello. 8vo. 8s. 6d.

The Lost Spirit, a Poem. By John Lawson, Author of Orient Harping, &c.

The Poetical Works, the Correspondence, and other Prose Pieces of Anna Letitia Barbauld. With a Memoir. By Lucy Aikin. 2 vols. 8vo. 11. 4s.

A Tale of Paraguay. By Robert Southey, LL.D. &c. &c. 1 vol. 12mo. With plates from designs by Westall, and engraved by Charles Heath. 10s. 6d.

TRAVELS.

Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan: including some Account of the Countries to the north-east of Persia: with Remarks upon the National Character, Government, and Resources of that Kingdom. By James B. Fraser, Author of a Tour in the Himala Mountains, &c. 1 vol. 4to. with a Map. 31. 3s.

THE

ECLECTIC REVIEW,

FOR AUGUST, 1825.

Art. I.

IN

The Study of Medicine. By John Mason Good, M.D. F.R.S., &c. In Five Volumes. 8vo. Second Edition. Price 31. 15s. London. 1825.

N bringing this book before our critical tribunal, we do not violate that principle which has been our usual guide in reference to works purely professional. Such works are more properly confined to the jurisdiction of professional journals ; but the volumes now before us possess general interest; and while they are so constructed, both in manner and materials, as to furnish important reading to the mere medical student, they, at the same time, are so rich in collateral and various informa tion, and are written in a style so free from technical phraseology, that we feel ourselves acting consistently with our avowed plan in calling our readers' attention to their contents.

It is far, however, from the design of the present article, to analyze a treatise which professes to be, and in truth is, a comprehensive system of medical doctrine and practice. We shall limit the following disquisition to a few leading points, and embrace the opportunity which the notice of such a work affords, of introducing some brief remarks on the theory and practice of medicine generally.

Whether the art of healing diseases be built upon a stable foundation; what has been, and what now is the influence of its doctrines upon its practice; how far the arrangement and classification of morbid affections may proceed upon principles similar to those which regulate the pursuits of natural history; and under what restrictions medicine may be made a popular study; are questions, the agitation of which involves matter of no trivial interest to readers at large, and which are therefore proposed for present discussion.

There are some persons who even contend that the word science is improperly applied to medical speculations and practice; and they go so far as to conceive that the application VOL. XXIV. N.S.

L

of those dogmata upon which curative attempts are founded, have, in the aggregate, been productive of mischief rather than of good in other words, they imagine, that it might have been better for the human race, had no remedial processes ever been instituted or acted upon.

To the question, however, Is there any reality in medicine?' the defender of the art has only, in reply, to refer to the most simple effects of medicinal substances. Do but allow that opium is capable of mitigating pain, merely concede that ipecacuan has a sort of specific effect upon the stomach, and some forms or doses of antimony upon the skin, and your concession implies the required admission. But, whether the practical use that has been made of these simple and elementary observations, if we may so term them, have in the long run proved beneficial or injurious, may further become a subject of doubt and disputation; and there is in fact, a great deal both of covert and confessed scepticism abroad, in reference to this particular.

Passing by the ridicule of those whose business it is to deal in the ridiculous, and not for the present noticing the more serious and formal oppugnancy of the unprofessional to the claims and consequence of medicine, we shall find, even in the admission and avowals of professors themselves, indications of what might be considered a hostile feeling towards their own vocation. The difference,' says a celebrated practitioner, be'tween no physician at all and a good one, may not be very great, but between a bad and a good one it is almost infinite.' This seems plainly to imply a belief in the positive evil, and only probable good, of therapeutic interference with the economy of nature; and it is but a very few years since, that a respectable member of a medical university published an argumentative tract, the object of which was to prove, that the most common and formidable of all diseases, fever, if left to itself, would be found to terminate as speedily, as when taken under the auspices of the most judiciously regulated practice; nay, that, practise how you please, the average result would be uniform.

If, in addition to these and many other intimations that might be adduced of a like bearing, we take into account the differences of opinion that to this very day obtain among speculatists, some, for instance, strenuously contending that fever is inflammation of the brain, while others deny that febrile and inflammatory action have any thing in common; one telling you that cathartics are well nigh catholicons, while another asserts that this almost unqualified recommendation and administration of purgatives, only proves what blunders and ab

surd method of treatment, the human body can in certain circumstances withstand:' if, moreover, we recollect, that one of the latest and most able writers on medicine has found it necessary to argue for its certainty as a science, and utility as an art, we shall, at any rate, on the first blush of the business, incline to the inference that there is a greater want of proof of its stability, than will be found in any other department of scientific investigation.

But this, to say the least, is the dark side of the picture; and we apprehend that, in spite of the many incentives to sceptical feeling, an impartial investigation of the matter would lead to the conclusion, that the art in question is entitled not only to the confidence, but the gratitude of the public; and that the vocation of a medical practitioner, who shall combine liberal feelings with liberal acquirements, who shall be guided by conscience, and guarded by knowledge, is one which yields to no other on the score of dignity and worth.

Even if medicine were an evil, it is one of man's own seeking, • Nusquam non est,' says Celsus. Instinctively to seek relief from physical suffering, is but to obey the first impulse of nature; and those who argue against therapeutic science, on the ground of its interference with natúre, are in some sort guilty of an absurd fatalism. The whole economy of life, more especially of civilised and social existence, consists in an application of power in opposition to evil; and if, as is the case, by the very process of diminishing its quantity, we make ourselves more obnoxious to what remains, the fault lies in the frailty of our being, or rather, we should say, in our own volitions, since, by refining upon simplicity, we make a voluntary barter of one. species of good for another.

To infer, then, as some have done, the nugatory nature of medicine from the continuance of disease, is to deal unfairly with the subject; and, on the other hand, if it can be proved that the subduction of physical evil bears any thing like a proportion to the quantum in which it is generated, not only the certainty, but the practical importance of the science is thereby substantiated.

In consistency with the principle just adverted to, it will be found, that the kind of sickness which rages in spite of the interference of art, is such as immediately results from artificial habits; while, on the contrary, those to which we are obnoxious without reference to these sources, are very considerably controlled and diminished by the interposition of medical science. Thus, apoplexy, palsy, gout, consumption, and the whole range of maladies that are comprised under the sweeping des