EVEN some of our modern practitioners prove, at least, by their practice, that they have faith in the virtue of such drugs, since they continue to use them. They are still suffered to make a figure in many of the Pharmacopœas, though no sure experience hitherto has verified their efficacy. On the contrary, a thousand and a thousand examples might be quoted in demonstration of their insufficiency and danger. I shall content myself with producing here the testimony of Mr. De la Motte, in the second book of his observations, and he is not the only man-midwife that does such medicines the justice of disapproving them. _Observation_ 174. “A CELEBRATED man-midwife of this town (says Mr. de la Motte) pretended to have a marvellous powder to provoke labor-pains, and accelerate parturition. This powder was composed of galbanum, myrrh, savin, rue, and other drugs, of which he made the patient take a dose, to hasten a delivery, when the labor was lingering, from half a drachm to a drachm, and after the effect of this medicine, which ended commonly in leaving the patient in a worse condition than before the taking it, he substituted the use of the crotchet, which was indeed an infallible method of putting a speedy end to the labor; and of which he as well as his fellow-practitioners made such a murderous use, the aid of the hand well conducted being unknown to them. “THE same operator (says Mr. de la Motte) was sent for to assist a lady who had continued in labour for three days, to whom he proposed a dose of his powders, to which she readily consented in the hopes of a speedy delivery. Unluckily, not most certainly for the lady, but for the honor of the powders, the operator, not having had the providence of having them about him, was forced to go home for them. The lady, in the mean while, was brought very happily to bed, just as he was re-entering the room with his dose for her. What a pity this was! What would not have been the boast of the virtue of those pretious powders, if the delivery had waited for them but half a quarter of an hour, though they would not have had the least share in it, since it would have been purely the work of Nature and Time. “THIS celebrated man-midwife was called to two other women of my acquaintance, of whom the labor somewhat resembled that of this lady, but of which the consequences were very different: he had made them take his powders to no manner of purpose, when seeing that a day had passed without their producing the expected effect, he had recourse to his _crotchet_, with which he quickly _dispatched_ both the deliveries.” _Observation_ 174, of the same Mr. De la Motte.