But though he had given me several proofs of his docility, I found it impossible to persuade him to make this sacrifice. A kind of nostalgia, perhaps, attached him to his former master, to whom he returned, after paying a visit to the curé of the parish. The latter, when he first saw him, imagined he had run away from the hospital; but by his conversation he was soon convinced of his being completely cured. After this period, I obtained a regular report respecting his behaviour and the state of his health, from the above curé, and from the person who had paid all the expenses of his residence in the hospital; and I learned, with great satisfaction, that he continued to enjoy good health, and to exercise his usual employment.
By the same treatment I cured, of a similar disorder, Charles Bellini, a labourer, who was restored to society in a shorter space of time, because the affection was not so violent as in the preceding case. The phænomena which took place when the patient was subjected to the action of the pile, when the Galvanism was applied to the brain, and during the whole progress of the cure, were nearly the same. I must, however, freely acknowledge, that two cures are not sufficient to establish the application of Galvanism as an universal remedy in such cases. But on this account it ought not to be rejected: at any rate it deserves further examination; for it is well known that all remedies require certain conditions before they can perform their effect. I have therefore several times found it impossible to obtain the same
result in other patients afflicted with melancholy madness, to whom I administered Galvanism; and in cases of raving madness I have even found it dangerous. In some instances, melancholy madness derives its origin from a certain general constitution of the animal machine, or from some great alteration in the brain; and it is evident that in such cases the action of Galvanism would be of no avail. But if the derangement of the intellectual functions depend only on some humour intercepted between the membranes and other parts of the brain, there is reason to hope that Galvanism, if prudently administered, may be attended with great benefit. The real cases in which it may be administered with success, can be ascertained only by experience. I must observe also, that the method of administering it is not yet reduced to that state of simplicity, which is necessary before it can be brought into regular use in large hospitals. The physicians, under whose care they are placed, have in general a great deal of private practice, and cannot conveniently attend to operations which require a continued labour for several months. Besides, the novelty of the remedy is sufficient to excite a clamour against it, and to awaken the prejudice of the assistants, who will even wish to proscribe it before it has been tried. For this reason, I think it necessary here to request, that those who preside over establishments destined for the reception of such patients would turn their attention to this subject, and endeavour to reduce the method of applying Galvanism to the utmost simplicity of which it is susceptible, in order that it
may be fit for being introduced into large hospitals. As the patient often shows an aversion to this strange remedy, it will be necessary to encourage him by every means possible. Sometimes on observing the flash of light, when the Galvanism is communicated, he cries out and is frightened; imagining that he sees a devouring fire ready to consume him, and on this account refuses to submit again to the operation. It will, therefore, be proper to conceal from him the apparatus, or to make a person show him the pile some time before as an object of amusement, and in this manner to prepare him for receiving its action. It will be of benefit also sometimes to modify the action of the pile, and to render it more moderate by a different method of application. In the case of female patients I have found the result the same, when the Galvanism, instead of being applied directly to the interior part of the ears, was directed externally to the gold pendents ([Plate III.] fig. 4.).
By considering the course generally pursued in curing melancholy madness, hints may be suggested for an useful application of Galvanism in that disease, and data may be obtained sufficient to establish the different modes of application best fitted to the different cases. These ideas have engaged a good deal of my attention; and when I have finished the observations I have been for some time collecting, I flatter myself that I shall be able to communicate to the public some interesting information on the subject.
In some cases of madness, as I found it impossible to apply
Galvanism to the hands, which were confined, I employed the action of an arc directed to the mouth ([Plate III.] fig. 2.), while another proceeded to one of the ears; or I applied a piece of money to the head, and communicated the Galvanism by the method already described ([Plate III.] fig. 3.).
It will even be necessary to try the effect of the Galvanic current, sometimes continued, and sometimes interrupted by means of the apparatus employed for diseases of the organs of hearing. It will be proper, in many cases, to combine moral with physical treatment, and not to neglect the other methods already known and practised, which may be used as very convenient auxiliaries.