As to the frequented methods of approach towards the border of the wilderness which we have taken under our especial patronage, we profess not to discuss them, leaving the public in the very competent hands of the Messrs Anderson, whose "Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland" is, in relation to the inhabited districts, and the usual tourists' routes, all-sufficient for its purpose. FOOTNOTES: [7] _Edinburgh New Philosophic Journal_, 1831, p. 165. [8] _New Statistical Account of Scotland--Banffshire_, p. 298. [9] _Dr Skene Keith's Surrey of Aberdeenshire_, p. 644. LETTERS ON THE TRUTHS CONTAINED IN POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. LETTER VII--OBJECTS TO BE GAINED THROUGH THE ARTIFICIAL INDUCTION OF TRANCE. DEAR ARCHY,--I am tempted to write you a letter more than I had originally intended,--a supplementary and final one. The powers which we have seen employed to shake the nerves and unsettle the mind in the service of superstition,--can they be turned to no useful purpose? To answer this question, I will give you a brief account of the two most vigorous attempts which have been made to turn the elements we have been considering to a profitable end. I have in my thoughts the invention of ether-inhalation and the induction of trance in mesmerism. The witch narcotised her pupils in order to produce in them delusive visions; the surgeon stupifies his patient to prevent the pain of an operation being felt. The fanatic preacher excites convulsions and trance in his auditory to persuade them that they are visited by the Holy Spirit; Mesmer produced the same effects as a means of curing disease. Let us first look into the simpler problem of ether-inhalation. It occurred to Mr Jackson, a chemist in the United States, that it might be possible, and unattended with risk, so to stupify a patient with the vapour of sulphuric ether that he might undergo a surgical operation without suffering. He communicated the idea to Mr Morton, a dentist, who carried it into execution with the happiest results. The patient became unconscious,--a tooth was extracted;--no sign of pain escaped at the time;--there was no recollection of suffering afterwards. Led by the report of this success, in the course of the autumn of 1846, Messrs Bigelow, Warren, and Heywood ventured to employ the same means in surgical operations of a more serious description. The results obtained on these occasions were not less satisfactory than the first had been. Since then, in England, France, and Germany, this interesting experiment has been repeated in numberless cases, and its general success may be considered to be established.