From the seventh down to the sixteenth century, va rious writers are to be met with, but little improvement is to be found in the art. The most popular work in the sixteenth century, was published originally in Ger man by Eucharius Roesslin, commonly called Rhodion. This, which was entitled the Garden of Lying-in Igo-.
men and Midwives. was translated into Latin and all the modern languages, and became the code of instruc tion for midwives. 1 k was not possible for rapid improve mt nt to be made, the women eould not go beyond their teachers, and their teachers had few means of instruct ing themselves by actual practice. Dr. Veit, in 1522, was publicly branded in H iinnurgh, for having been present at a delivery under the disguise of a midwife.
In the sixteenth century, when little originality was to be met with, Anrbrose Pare formed an exception to the general character of the age ; and it is this circum stance which has made him stand higher in public esti mation than his real merits deserve. Yet it is far from the intention of the writer of this article to detract from hi, claim ; for surely the man, who, in an age of dark. ness and servitude, can to any degree desert the beaten path for a better way, is entitled to more praise than the author of a brilliant system in a period enlightened by science and philosophy. Pate was the best surgeon of his day, and his book, in many respects, bears the same relation to medical details that Froissart's chronicle does to a dry history. His obstetrical directions are to be found in his general work, but came again before the public in a separate form by his pupil Guillimeau. This contained a view of all that was known a' the time ; but its chief merit, and the ground of P.de's obstetric reputation, is the rule, which he rendered nearly abso lute, in all preternatural labours to turn the child, and deliver by the feet. This work was succeeded, in 1668, by a system of F. Nlauriceau, who not only had much private experience, hut opportunity of improvement in the Hotel Dieu, pail of which by this time had been appropriated to lying-in women, and is to be considered the first establishment of the kind it) Europe. His book is not only worthy of notice ft om its merit, considering the time when it appeared, but also from the English translation by Dr. Chamberlain, containing an intimation in the preface that his father, himself, and his brother, pos sessed a mean of delivering women in difficult labour in a way compatible with the safety of the child. How
long his father or the family had possessed the secret is not known, hut the first public intimation is given in toe preface alluded to, which appeared in 1672 B.: fore this he had gone over to Paris with the intention of selling his secret, hut imprudently boasted that he could deliver safely a woman whom Mauriceau had declared could not be saved otherwise than by the Cesarean ope ration. The result of his trial, in this case, was such as might have been expected, and, instead of selling his secret, he, by promising too much, lost his reputation, and with empty pockets returned to England. Next he went to Holland, where he communicated at least part of his secret to Roger Roonhuysen, from whom it passed to Rn sch and ot•o rs as a nostrum ; nor was it revealed till 1753, when De Vischer and Van de Poll purchased it, aim made it puhlic. It was long afterwards in re pute under the name of the Lever ; but has now de servedly lost ground. It would appear that Chamberlain used both the lever and the forceps; but whether he only revealed the former to Roonhuysen, or had not then em ployed the forceps, is uncertain, and unimportant in the annals of quackery. Of late, a discovery has been made of the original instruments, in an old building in Essex, where, in the floor of a closet, a door was per ceived with hinges. Tnis being opened— cot by Mts. R tdcliffe, but by a sober matter-of-fact-man—there was found neither blood-stained armour, nor mysterious parchment, but some rusty instruments of three differ ent descriptions, a lever and two pair of forceps, one a little more improved than the other. Soon after this time, other practitioners, both in Britain and on the continent. employed similar instruments; but it was not for natty years afterwards that a description of them was made public. Dr. Denman, in a very desultory historic sketch which he prefixed to his work, and which is altogether unlike that work, says, that Dr. Chapman first described the forceps in the Edinburgh Medical Essays. ill 1733 ; but he cannot have read these essay, tor it is Mr. Butter who there gives a plate of the instrument he had seen in Paris. whilst in the end of the volume Chapman is criticised for not depicting his forceps. This he afterwards did. He is reported to have been the second person who taught midwifery in this kingdom. Alauhray, about ten years before, had started for the first time as a lecturer ; but is chiefly known for his opposition to the use of instruments.