VIII. A famous musician and great composer, was attacked with a fever, which continued augmenting, till on the seventh day, it threw him into a violent delirium, which remained on him with little or no intermission, accompanied with shrieks, lamentations, terrors, and perpetual watching. On the third day, one of those natural instincts, which are said to cause sick brutes to seek such herbs as are beneficial for them, induced him to request some music for his entertainment. They sung to him, properly accompanied with instruments, some of the compositions of Mons. Bernier, a celebrated French musician: as soon as the harmony began, his countenance appeared serene, his eyes looked more tranquil, the convulsions ceased intirely, and he shed tears of pleasure; the fever left him while the music continued, but when that ceased, the fever and the symptoms returned again. Upon this happy and unexpected success, they repeated the music again and again, and always obtained a suspension of the fever and the symptoms, while the music lasted. A relation of his, used some nights to sit up with him, whom he intreated to sing and dance to him, and always found great relief from it; and it sometimes happened, that for want of other music, they entertained him with common nurses songs, and such as are used to divert children, and from which he found great benefit. In fine, ten days music, without any other medicinal assistance than one bleeding in the ankle, which was the second that had been prescribed for him, perfectly cured him. IX. There may be some doubt, whether the total cure of this man was owing to music; and I must confess, there is no certainty that it was. He might owe his recovery to the second bleeding; or he might be indebted to Nature for it. The transitory relief which he received from the melody, had no more fixed connection with the substantial part of the cure, than those intervals of amendment have, which in many diseases, Nature affords of herself. The suspension of the symptoms, frequently proceeds from principles, which have not sufficient influence to entirely extirpate the malady. The knowing, that in general, it can’t be inferred, that the thing is able to perform the whole, which only executes a part, makes such a connection as we have mentioned before doubtful. But even if this was admitted, there still exists in the case related, an undubitable and marvellous effect of music; and perhaps, the quick suspension of the fever and the symptoms, every time they repeated the music, is a more striking instance of its immediate and wonderful power, than the perfecting a total cure would have been. I say, this appears more amazing to me, than if the remedy had worked an intire cure, by contributing to the recovery of the sick person, by slow degrees, and by little and little, and which could not have been compleated, but in the course of a considerable number of days.