LXI. The account of this precautionary method, was brought to England by one Maitland, who was surgeon to Mr. Wortley Mountague, his Britannic majesty’s ambassador at the Porte, and was from thence communicated to the other nations of Europe. Maitland had observed, that this practice was almost universal in all the cities of the Levant, and that it was attended with wonderful success. He communicated these remarks to Mr. and Mrs. Mountague, and they had fortitude enough, upon the faith of what he had told them, to make the experiment upon a son they had with them of six years old, which being attended with success, they repeated it upon another of their children when they returned to England. Many were animated with these examples and these accounts; and the practice of inoculation, began to be much approved, and much adopted in England, notwithstanding it was greatly opposed, and objected to by some people there, and by many in other countries; and especially by the physicians of Paris, who exclaimed strongly against it. LXII. But as this contest was such a one, as ought not to be determined by speculative reasoning, an appeal was made to experience, which appeal, was prosecuted in such a manner by those who were advocates for the practice, as seemed to exclude all doubt and perplexity. Physicians who resided in different parts of the kingdom, were requested to give accounts of the success of their practice by this method, and to transmit them to London, which when received, were printed and published. By these accounts, two facts were established; the first was, that inoculation freed the patient from the danger of a second infection; and the second was, that those to whom the small-pox was communicated in this way, very rarely died; and although it is true that some few of them miscarried, they were mostly such, as were afflicted with some other disorder at the time of their inoculation, of which they would have died, if they had not had the small-pox; but these altogether, did not amount to but very little more than a tenth part of those, who perished by catching it in the natural way; for by the best calculation they could make, one out of eight died of the last, and not above one in eighty of the first. LXIII. This is the account I have read of this matter in the Memoirs of Trevoux; to which some may object, that it is possible the relations of the cases, were not published so faithfully as they were received. To this I answer, that it is probable great pains were taken in making the enquiries, and great fidelity observed in publishing the accounts, as the Memoirs of Trevoux tell us, that upon the strength of their authority, some of the royal family of England were inoculated.