NATURAL HISTORY. Account of a Woman in the Shire of of Rofs, living without Food or Drink. From the Philofophical Tranfactions. JAR ANET Mac Leod, unmarried, aged thirty-three years and fome months, daughter of Donald Mac Leod, tenant in Croick, in the parish of Kincardine, and fhire of Rofs; in the fifteenth year of her age had a pretty sharp epileptic fit: fhe had till then been in perfect health, and continued fo till about four years thereafter, when fhe had a fecond fit, which lafted a whole day and night; and a few days afterwards, the was feized with a fever of feveral weeks continuance, from which she had a flow and very tedious recovery of feveral months. During this period fhe loft the natural power of her eye-lids, was under the neceffity of keeping them open with the fingers of one hand, when fhe had any thing to do with the other, went out, or wanted to look about her; in every other refpect fhe was in health and tolerable fpirits, only here it may be fit to remark, that the never had the leaft appearance of the menfes, but periodically spit up blood in pretty large quantities, and at the fame time it flowed from the nose. This vicarious discharge, accord ing to her mother's report, happened regularly every month for feveral years. About five years ago, a little before which time the abovementioned periodical discharge had difappeared, he had a fhort third epileptic fit, which was immediately fucceeded by a fever of about a week's continuance, and of which fhe recovered fo flowly that he had not been out of doors till fix weeks after the crisis; when, without the knowledge of her parents or any of the family (who were all bufied in the harvestfield) fhe ftole out of the house, and bound the corn of a ridge before they obferved her. On that fame evening fhe took to her bed, complaining much of her heart and head; and fince, fhe has never rifen out of it except when lifted, has feldom fpoken a word, and has had fo little craving for food, that at first it was by downright compulfion her parents could get her to take as much as would fupport a fucking infant: afterwards the gradually fell off from taking even that small quantity; infomuch that, at Whitfuntide 1763, the totally refused food and drink, and her jaw became fo faft locked, that it was with the greatest difficulty her father was able with a knife or other methods to open her teeth fo as to admit a little thin gruel gruel or whey, and of which fo much generally run out at the corners of her mouth, that they could not be fenfible that any of it had been fwallowed. Much about this time, that is, about four years ago, they got a bottle of the water from a noted medicinal spring in Brea-mar, of which they endeavoured to get her to fwallow a part, by pouring fome out of a fpoon between her lips (her jaws all the while faft-locked) but it all run out. With this, however, they rubbed her throat and jaws, and continued the trial to make her swallow, rubbing her throat with the water that run out of her mouth for three mornings together. On the third morning during this operation, fhe cried, Give me more water; when all that remained of the bottle was given her, which the fwallowed with ease. These were the only words the spoke for almost a year, and the continued to mutter fome more (which her parents underflood) for twelve or fourteen days, after which the fpoke none, and rejected, as formerly, all forts of nourishment and drink, till fome time in the month of July 1765, when a fifter of hers thought, by fome figns that he made, that fhe wanted her jaws opened; which her father, not without violence, got done, by putting the handle of a horn-fpoon between her teeth. She faid then intelligibly, Give me a drink; and drank with ease, and all at one draught, about an English pint of water. Her father then asked her, why fhe would not make fome figns, although fhe could not speak, when the wanted a drink? She answered, why fhould the when he had no de fire. At this period they kept the jaws afunder with a bit of wood, imagining the got her fpeech by her jaws being opened, and continued them thus wedged for about · twenty days, though in the first four or five days the had wholly loft the power of utterance. At laft they removed the wedge, as it gave her uneafiness, and made her lips fore. At this time she was fenfible of every thing done or faid about her; and when her eye-lids were opened for her, fhe knew every body; and when the neighbours in their vifits would be bemoaning her condition, they could obferve a tear ftand in her eye. In fome of the attempts to open her jaws, two of the under foreteeth were forced out; of which opening they often endeavoured to avail them felves, by putting fome thin nourishing drink into her mouth; but without effect, for it always returned by the corners; and, about a twelvemonth ago, they thought of thrufting a little dough of oatmeal through this gap of the teeth, which the would retain a few feconds, and then return with something like a ftraining to vomit, without one particle going down: nor has the family been fenfible, though ob ferving, of any appearance like that of fwallowing, for now four years, excepting the small draught of Brea-mar water and the English pint of common water; and for the last three years she has not had any evacuation by ftool or urine, except that, once or twice a week, she has paffed a few drops of urine, as the parents exprefs it, about as much as would wet the furface of a half-penny; and even fmali as this quantity is, it gives her fome F 3 uneafi uneafinefs till fhe voids it: for they know all her motions, and when they fee her thus uneafy, they carry her her to the door of the house, where the makes these few drops. Nor have they, in all these three years, ever discovered the fmalleft wetting in her bed; in proof of which, notwithstanding her being fo long bed-ridden, there has never been the leaft excoriation, though fhe never attempts to turn herself, or makes any motion with hand, head, or foot, but lies like a log of wood. Her pulfe today, which with fome difficulty I felt (her mother at this time having raifed her, and fupported her in her bed) is diftinct and regular, flow, and to the extremeft degree fmall. Her countenance is clear and pretty fresh, her features not disfigured nor funk; her fkin feels natural both as to touch and warmth; and to my aftonishment, when I came to examine her body, for I expected to feel a fkeleton, I found her breafts round, and prominent, like thofe of a healthy young woman-; her legs, arms, and thighs, not at all emaciated; the abdomen fomewhat tumid, and the muscles tenfe; her knees bent, and her ham-ftrings tight as a bow-ftring; her heels almoft clofe to the nates. When they ftruggle with her, to put a little water within her lips, they obferve fometimes a dewy foftnefs on her fkin; the fleeps much, and very quiet; but when awake keeps a conftant whimpering like a new-born weakly infant, and fometimes makes an effort to cough. At prefent no degree of ftrength can force open her jaws. I put the point of my lit * tle finger into the gap in her teeth, and found the tongue, as far as I could reach, foft and moift; as I did with my other fingers the mouth and cheeks quite to the back teeth. She never can remain a moment on her back, but always falls to one fide or to the other; and when her mother fat behind her in the bed, and fupported her while I was examining her body, her head hung down, with her chin close to her breast, nor could I with any force move it backwards, the anterior mufcles of the neck being rigid, like a perfon in the emprofthotonos, and in this posture the conftantly lies. The above cafe was taken in writing this day, at the diseased woman's bed-fide, from the mouths of her father and mother, who are known to be people of great veracity, and are under no temptation to deceive; for they neither ask, expect, or get any thing their daughter's fituation is a very great mortification to them, and univerfally known and regretted by all their neighbours. I had along with me, as interpreters *, Mr. Robertfon, a very difcreet young gentleman, eldest fon to the minifter of the parish, and David Rofs, at the Craig of Strath-Carron, their neighbour and one of the elders of the parish, who verified from his own knowledge all that is above related. The prefent fituation and appearances of the patient were carefully examined this 21ft of October, 1767, by Dr. Alexander Mackenzie, phyfician at New Tarbat; who likewife, in the month of October, 1772, being informed that the patient was recovering and ate and drank, vifited her, and found her condition to be as follows: about a year preceding this laft date, her parents one day returning from their country labours, (having left their daughter as for fome years before fixed to her bed) were greatly furprized to find her fitting on her ħams, on the fide of the houfe oppofite to her bed-place, fpinning with her mother's distaff. I asked, whether he ever ate or drank? whether he had any of the natural evacuations? whether she ever spoke or attempted to fpeak? And was answered, that the fometimes crumbled a bit of oat or barley cake in the palm of her hand, as if to feed a chicken; that she put little crumbs of this into the gap of her teeth, rolled them about for fome time in her mouth, and then fucked out of the palm of her hand a little water, whey, or milk; and this once or twice a day, and even that by compulfion: that the egefta were in proportion to the ingefta; that he never attempted to fpeak; that her jaws were ftill faft-locked, her ham-ftrings tight as before, and her eyes fhut. On my opening her eye-lids I found the eye-balls turned up under the edge of the os frontis, her countenance ghastly, her complexion pale, her fkin fhrivelled and dry, and her whole perfon rather emaciated; her pulfe with the utmoft difficulty to be felt. She feemed fenfible and tractable in every thing, except in taking food; for, at my request, fhe went through her different exercises, fpinning on the distaff, and crawling a out on her hams, by the wall of the houfe, with the help of her hands: but when he was defired to eat, fhe f fhewed the greatest reluctance, and indeed cried before the yielded; and this was no more than, as I have faid, to take a few crumbs as to feed a bird, and to fuck half a fpoonful of milk from the palm of her hand. On the whole, her exiftence was little lefs wonderful now than when I firft faw her, when he had not fwallowed the fmallest particle of food for years together. I attributed her thinnefs and wan complexion, that is, the great change of her looks from what I had firft feen when fixed to her bed, to her exhaufting too much of the Saliva by spinning flax on the diftaff, and therefore recommended her being totally confined to fpinning wool: this the does with equal dexterity as fhe did the flax. The above was her fituation in October, 1772; and within thefe eight days I have been told by a neighbour of her father's, that fhe fti continues in the fame way, without any addition to her fupport, and without any additional ailment. April 3, 1775. At Croick, the fifteenth Day of TO authenticate the history fet forth in the preceding pages, Donald Mac Leod, efq. of Granics, fheriff depute of Rofs-fhire, George Munro, efq. of Cuteain, Simon Rofs, efq. of Gladfield, Captain George Sutherland of Elphin, all juftices of the peare; Meffieurs William Smith, preacher of the gofpel, John Barclay writer in Tain, Hugh Rois ftudent of divinity, and Alexander Mac Leod, did come to this place, accompaF 4 nied nied by the above Dr. Alexander Mackenzie, phyfician at New Tarbat, and after explaining the purport and meaning of the above history to Donald Mac Leod, father to Janet Mac Leod above-mentioned, and to David Rofs, elder, in the parish of Kincardine, who lives in the clofe neighbourhood of this place, and was one of the doctor's original interpreters; they, to our full fatisfaction, after a minute examination, authenticate all the facts fet forth in the above account: and, for our further fatisfaction, we had Janet Mac Leod brought out before us to the open air, when the doctor discovered a very great improvement in her looks and health fince the period of his having feen her laft, as now the walked tolerably upright, with a little hold by the wall. And notwithstanding her age, which, upon inquiry, we found to be exactly as fet forth in the above account, her countenance and looks would have denoted her not to be above twenty years of age at moft. At prefent, the quantity of food fhe ufes is not above what would be necèffary for the fuftenance of an infant of two years of age. And we do report, from our knowledge of the above men, and the circumftances of the cafe, that full faith and credit is to be given to every article of the above history. WILLIAM SMITH, ALEXANDER MAC LEOD, GEORGE SUTHERLAND, J. P. Account of Perfons who could not diftinguish Colours. From the Philofophical Tranfactions. SIR, Read Feb. 13, 177.7. W London, Jan. 15, 1777. HEN I had the pleasure of waiting on you laft winter, I had hopes before now of giving you a more perfect account of the peculiarity of vifion which I then mentioned to you, in a perfon of my acquaintance in the North: however, if I' give you now the best I am able, perfuade myself you will pardon the delay. I promifed to procure you a written account from the perfon himfelf, but this I was unfortunately difappointed in, by his dying fuddenly of a pleurify a fhort time after my return to the country. You will recollect I told you that this perfon lived at Maryport in Cumberland, near which place, viz. at Allonby, I myself live, and having known him about ten years have had frequent opportunities of converfing with him. His name was Harris, by trade a Shoe-maker. I had often heard from others that he could difcern the form and magnitude of all objects very diftinctly, but could not diftinguish colours. This report having excited my curiofity, I converfed with him frequently on the fubject. The account he gave was this: That he had reafon to believe other perfons faw fomething in objects which he could not fee; that their language feemed to mark qualities with confidence and precifion, which he could only guefs at with hefitation, and frequently with error. His firft fufpicion of |