DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70266#0216
188 kirbVs wonderful museum.
natural; he raised her arm, and found it heavy and rigid,
so that he'could not bend it without difficulty; hethen
raised her head, and her neck being as stiff as a board, her
back and shoulders rose with it; her legs were in the same
state; he put his mouth to her ear, and called as loud as
he could, and, to be sure there was no cheat, he thrust a pin
through her flesh to the bone ; he kept the flame of burning
paper to her cheek, till he burnt the scarf skin ; he thrust
a piece of linen, dipped in spirits of wine, up her nostril, and
set it on fire for a moment; but, notwithstanding this inju-
rious and cruel treatment, the poor creature continued to
sleep. At half an hour after six, her neck, arms, and legs
became more supple; about eight she turned in her bed,
got up abruptly, and came to the fire; she soon after ate
with an appetite, and then sat down to spin. She seems to
have been frequently the subject of wanton cruelty, which
is too often indulged, under the pretence of gratifying a
laudable curiosity, and increasing useful knowledge. Before
Brady’s experiment with the pin, which he thrust through
the flesh to the bone, &c, the flaming paper, with which
he scorched her cheek, a surgeon had forced down her
throat 18 grains of emetic tartar, w’hich, if it had worked
her, would probably have put an end to her life, four grains
being a dose. She had been whipped, till the blood ran
down her shoulders; her back had been rubbed with honey,
and then exposed in a hot day before a hive of bees, w’hen
she was stung to such a degree, that her back and shoul-
ders were covered with blotches and tumours ; pins had been
thrust under her nails, and she had suffered many other in-
juries, which Brady calls odd experiments, and says, he
must pass them over in silence, on account of their inde-
cency. If a repetition of these experiments did not destroy
this unhappy wretch, it is probable that she remained in
the same state ; for it does not appear that any measures
were taken to cure her, by any of those humane and inge-
natural; he raised her arm, and found it heavy and rigid,
so that he'could not bend it without difficulty; hethen
raised her head, and her neck being as stiff as a board, her
back and shoulders rose with it; her legs were in the same
state; he put his mouth to her ear, and called as loud as
he could, and, to be sure there was no cheat, he thrust a pin
through her flesh to the bone ; he kept the flame of burning
paper to her cheek, till he burnt the scarf skin ; he thrust
a piece of linen, dipped in spirits of wine, up her nostril, and
set it on fire for a moment; but, notwithstanding this inju-
rious and cruel treatment, the poor creature continued to
sleep. At half an hour after six, her neck, arms, and legs
became more supple; about eight she turned in her bed,
got up abruptly, and came to the fire; she soon after ate
with an appetite, and then sat down to spin. She seems to
have been frequently the subject of wanton cruelty, which
is too often indulged, under the pretence of gratifying a
laudable curiosity, and increasing useful knowledge. Before
Brady’s experiment with the pin, which he thrust through
the flesh to the bone, &c, the flaming paper, with which
he scorched her cheek, a surgeon had forced down her
throat 18 grains of emetic tartar, w’hich, if it had worked
her, would probably have put an end to her life, four grains
being a dose. She had been whipped, till the blood ran
down her shoulders; her back had been rubbed with honey,
and then exposed in a hot day before a hive of bees, w’hen
she was stung to such a degree, that her back and shoul-
ders were covered with blotches and tumours ; pins had been
thrust under her nails, and she had suffered many other in-
juries, which Brady calls odd experiments, and says, he
must pass them over in silence, on account of their inde-
cency. If a repetition of these experiments did not destroy
this unhappy wretch, it is probable that she remained in
the same state ; for it does not appear that any measures
were taken to cure her, by any of those humane and inge-