Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

vance.

She was daughter of lord O'Brien, and wife of Eugene,

lord O'Bourk, and dying in 1512, lies here interred.

The church ftands on the fide of a hill, and confifts of two large chapels, divided by a belfrey, under which you pass through an elliptical arch, the lower terminations of which are ornamented with foliage, and a small angel in the attitude of prayer.

'The O'Bourks were ancient proprietaries of West Brefny, now the county of Leitrim, and one of them lies here at full length on a tomb over the burial-place of his family. There are alfo feveral curious figures, inferted into the walls, over the graves of the Murroghs, Cornins, and other eminent families of the vicinity.

One of the O'Bourks was an active rebel in 1588. On his fubmiffion, he went to England and was introduced to queen Elizabeth, but refufed to bend his knee. Being afked why he did not, he answered, that he was not accuftomed to it. How, fays a finart English lord, not to images? Aye, replied O'Bourks, but there is a great deal of difference between your queen and the images of faints. He gravely petitioned the queen, not for life or pardon, but that he might be hanged with a gad or withe, after his country's fashion, a request, which no doubt, was readily granted him.'

[blocks in formation]

'We have every reafon to place the foundation of this monaftery, previous to the year 1230, for "in the chore of the friars-preachers, fays Stanihurft, William Marshall, erle of Pembroke, was buried, who departed this life in the yere 1231; Richard, brother to William, to whom the inheritance defcended, within three years after, deceased at Kilkennie, beinge wounded to deathe in a field in the heath of Kildare, in the year 1234, the twelfe of April, and was intoomed with his brother, according to the old epitaph here mentioned." Hic comes eft pofitus, Ricardus vulnere fitlus cujus fub foffa, Kilkennia continet offa."

The new choir was not completed before 1321, when the great altar, a marble table of amazing fize, was confecrated, and in ten years after, the bishop of Waterford confecrated the ce.netery. A great flood in the river Nore, deftroyed all the bridges and mills in Kilkenny, but dared not approach, if we believe tradition, the high altar of this church. Nor were the friars of this houfe lefs fuccefsful in forging other miracles, and getting them credited. Elizabeth Palmer, who built at her own expence the forepart of the choir, and was interred therein, died a virgin at the age of feventy, though she had been married young, and to several husbands.

St. Francis's well, belonging to this church, was famous for miraculous cures, and ftill among the fuperftitious, preferves fome degree of reputation. Henry VIII. granted this monastery and its poffeffions to the corporation of Kilkenny, part of it is now a horsebarrack. It was an elegant building as its furviving remains evince.' C. R. N. ARR. (XI.) June, 1794.

A Trea

A Treatise on the Science of Mufcular Ation. By John Pugh, Anatomift. Illuftrated by fifteen Copper-plates. 410

21 25. Boards. Dilly. 1794.

Τ

IT has often been our misfortune to obferve men fuch martyrs to the gout, that they have been difabled for a feries of years from making a free ufe of their limbs, and prevented from purfuing a courfe of bodily exercife fo effential to health; as well as a variety of other objects crippled, lame, and deformed from different caufes; and we have always lamented that the furgical art fhould be fo defective, as not to afford relief to fuch unfortunate fufferers. Indeed we have been apt to confider feveral of thefe maladies as approbria chirurgicorum; finding that many of them have been cured either by time or accident, after having foiled the efforts of practitioners, who ftood high in their profeffion with the public.

It is, therefore, with fingular pleafure, that we have perufed the work before us, which promifes fuccefs in many defperate cafes, and that by the moft fimple means.- Nature has in herfelf wonderful refources, and when judiciously affifted, feldom fails to exert her powers to the moft happy purpofes. But we are forry to fay fhe is often difturbed in her perations, by ig-> norance, inattention, or a mistaken notion, relative to the means which fie exercifes for the promotion of her falutary ends and in no inftances, perhaps, more than in cafes of diftortion and lamenefs, particularly in conftitutions far diftant from any ftage of decrepitude. In all cafes of difeafe, the is to be obferved with great attention; and all her operations are to be imitated with that gentleness and fimplicity, that parts affected may not be weakened and deftroyed by efforts too powerful for the debilitated state into which they have unfortunately fallen.-This plan our author feems to have purfued, and with what fuccefs his work very clearly manifefts. He has treated his fubject in a concife and mafterly manner, and has endeavoured to fhew that it is founded on rational principles, and fupported by experience. Indeed it appears. tonithing to our reflection, that fome fuch fcheme has never before been brought forward, particularly as general exercife I been univerfally allowed in all ages, and by every fpecies of practitioners, to be the grand prefervative and reitorer of 1. it is furprifing after the various hints given us by the ancients, respecting partial or local exercife, that it fhould not have been adopted and pursued; particularly when we confider the pop oved fate of furgery as it ftands in the prefent perida en re fimpic modes ufed in practice, which are. newed and avade general only when confirmed by experi

mnt.

... Pugappears to have taken every proper flep to fupport

his doctrines, and has proved inconteftibly their validity by names of fuch refpectability, that he has not permitted fcepticifm to exercife its ingenuity with any fuccefs. We fhall now, therefore, lay before our readers an account of the work which he introduces under the fanction of fome men, whofe allowed abilities will add weight to the publication, we mean thofe of Dr. Baker, Mr. John Hunter, and Dr. Lettfom, who all declare his apparatus well calculated to anfwer the intended purpofes; to which Dr. Letfom adds: From the benefits derived by gentlemen of my acquaintance.'

[ocr errors]

Our author then proceeds in his Introduction, to explain the reafons that first induced him to make the attempt; upon converfing,' fays he, with feveral of the medical profeffion, refpecting the multiplicity of chronic complaints, which generally affect the limbs, he found that recreative exercife was by no means adequate to complete a recovery, becaufe the parts locally affected received thereby no benefit.'-And, perfuaded from the opinions of the beft authors which he had read, and the lectures he had heard, that ftrength, vigor, and activity, were to be given to the mufcular fyftem by general exercife; he was confcious, alfo from repeated experience, that partial exercife would relieve and remove local complaints, and in recent cafes of debility and injury, reftore their limbs to the performance of their proper functions ---On this idea he forms the whole of his work, which he endeavours to establith by fhewing, ift. the different effects of inactivity and exercife on the human machine; 2d. giving the opinions of various authors, ancient or modern, on thefe fubjects; 3d. pointing out the neceflity and importance of exercife; 4th. furnishing an account of the formation of mufcles; 5th. treating of mufcular action, and the principles from whence they derive their powers; 6th. exhibiting a table of the mufcles with their fes and plates; 7th. introducing the other moving powers of the . machine connected with the mufcles; and clofing with a number of cafes, wherein great benefit had been received by his mode of treatment and apparatus.

The regular method in which the whole is conducted, not only renders it very readily intelligible, but alfo fatisties our reafon, by laying down firft the general neceflity for exercifé, .fhewing its effects, how thofe are produced, and proving, how from the nature and formation of the parts, partial action may be communicated to them, and be attended with fimilar confe quences. We cannot, however, think there was a neceflity for fuch a variety of quotations, to prove the utility of exer cife, and the difadvantages of inactivity; it would have been fufficient to have mentioned the general effects how they were occationed, for phyficians of all ages have agreed to uniformly with

02

with regard to the principles, that they are confidered as felfevident propofitions. We think it proper to fupply this hint, in bopes that if the work fhould require a fecond edition, it may be attended to, which will fave the reader fome unneceffary trouble, and take from the work a tedious and difinterefling part.

But ftill to render the work more complete, our author has supplied a general table of the mufcles, arranged them alphabetically, and explained their ufes, with a number of plates, that are executed with fuch a degree of boldnefs and perfpicuity, as renders their action perfectly intelligible, and makes us acquainted with the pofitions of the body, neceffary to promote the different actions conducive to the cure, or alleviation when labouring under difeafe. The delineations of them are clear and diftinct, and a happy view of them in their different states of contraction, relaxation, and extenfion, in the various circunftances under which they are placed, fo well expreffed, as to render the means from whence advantage is to be derived to the valetudinarian, readily comprehenfible.

Upon the whole, we confefs that we have received much pleature and information in the perufal, and would recommend it to cur readers, particularly fuch as are afflicted with maladies it promifes to relieve-and though we cannot fay any thing of the apparatus invented by our author, as he has not furnished us with a defcription, we doubt not, but, if it is continued, fo as to fupply degrees of motion to muscular parts morbidly aff Aed, where there is a deficiency of power, fimilar to that which can be afforded to mufcles capable of action, fimilar benefit will be the refult.

With what probability this may be expected, will be best fhewn from the author's own words, with which we shall clofe the account.

It is no fmall fatisfaction to me, that I have been enabled to lay before my readers not only the utility of general, but alfo the neceflity of partial exercife, from the authority of the moft refi cctable characters in medicine, both ancient and modern. But they feem not to have carried the latter far enough; for though we will allow great benefit may be derived in many cafes by the ftrict obfervance or the rules which may be deduced from what has already been advanced in n ild and recent cafes, ftill will they all be infuf ficient in cafes more inveterate, though curable by proper applications. We find many arthritic fubjects who, either from extreme debility, pain, or fome other caufe, cannot of themselves give power and force enough to the mufcles, either to counteract the great contractility of fonie, to give proper elafticity to others—or promote a due circulation fufficient to alleviate or cure the local affections.→→

2.

For

For many can only fubmit to frictions, which are applied too fuper, ficially to produce proper action on the more interior parts: for we find, that neither the mufcular fibres, tendons, nerves, blood veffels, nor lymphatics, which are deeper feated, can fufficiently experience the effects which ought to be occafioned by motion a great number of convalefcents, who have ufed frictions affiduously, can be brought in proof of this affertion, and fuch as have by more powerful motion applied to the limbs received every defired benefit.— Some contrivance, then, has been long wanting, whereby all the mufcles, left in a morbid ftate of debility, might be thrown into action, and that action continued or their too powerful contractility counteracted, and that with as much eafe as the nature of the cafe would admit, or the neceflity demand.-It has been my, ftudy for a number of years to contrive fuch an apparatus; how far I have fucceeded, will be moft fatisfactorily proved by the following cafes; a careful comparison of which with the principles that have been laid down in the foregoing fheets, will fhew incontestably, I flatter myfelf, that the plan is founded on reafon, and not on the vain boaftful pretences of quackery and imposition.'

MONTHLY CATALOGU E.

POLITICA L.

The Catechifm of Man. Pointing out from found Principles, and acknowledged Facts, the Rights and Duties of every rational Being. Svo. 6d. Eaton. 1794.

T

HE principles of Mr. Thomas Paine have been conveyed in various fhapes to the public, fince the circulation of his works was prohibited. We have them here in the form of a catechifm, accompanied with notes, in which every poffible outrage is offered to the fyftem and adminiftration of the British conftitution. The following lines from the Preface will afford a tolerable fpecimen of the author's powers of perfuafion:

It is the people who have been the authors of almost every thing, either illuminating in fcience, or useful in art. Who difcovered the circulation of the blood?-The people. Who the art of printing? -The people. Who the power of the magnet?- The people. Who the ufe of logarithms ?-The people. Who the continent of America?-The people.'

This method of anfwering queftions, which have long puzzled the ableft antiquaries and hiftorians is certainly new, if not fatisfactory, and it may be continued ad infinitum, without the rifk of contradiction, for all inventions were certainly owing to fome people or other.

[ocr errors][merged small]
« AnteriorContinua »