An
ACCOUNT
of the
CONTRIBUTION
for making Mrs.
Stephens
's
MEDICINES
public; with some
REASONS
for it, and
ANSWERS
to the most Remarkable
Objections
made against it.
T HE false Pretences to Methods of dissolving Stones in the Urinary Passages have been so many, and some of them so pernicious, that Physicians of Character and Experience seem for some time to have left off enquiring into the Nature and Efficacy of Medicines said to dissolve Stones; contenting themselves with prescribing opiate and lenient Remedies, where the Stones were supposed too large to pass; or advising the Operation for those in the Bladder, if the Age, Strength and other Circumstances of the Patient made it proper to be attempted. But still the thing is not impossible; the active Principles discovered in Stones have always afforded some Hopes to the careful Enquirers into Nature, that a safe Dissolvent might at last be found; and, what is above all, Matters of Fact may justly claim a fair Hearing, especially in a Case of great Importance. In order to obtain this for Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines, I some time ago published a Pamphlet, entituled,
Ten Cases of Persons who have taken Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines for the Stone; with an Abstract of some Experiments, tending to illustrate
ese Cases.
Since this a Contribution has been begun, and is now carried on at Mr.
Drummond
's, Banker at
Charing-cross,
for the raising 5000
l.
in order to purchase the Secret from Mrs.
Stephens;
and his Grace the Lord Archbishop of
Canterbury;
the Right Honourable the Earl of
Godolphin,
Lord Privy Seal; his Grace the Duke of
Richmond
and
Lenox;
his Grace the Duke of
Montague;
the Right Honourable the Earl of
Pembroke;
the Right Honourable the Earl of
Scarborough;
the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount
Lonsdale;
the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of
Gloucester;
the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of
Oxford;
the Right Honourable the Lord
Baltimore;
the Right Honourable
Arthur Onslow,
Esq; Speaker of the House of Commons; the Right Honourable
Stephen Poyntz,
Esq; and the Honourable
Thomas Townshend,
Esq; have consented to become Trustees and Judges between the Public and Mrs.
Stephens,
and have taken Dr.
Shaw
and Myself into their Number. Every 1000
l.
as it arises, is to be vested in
South Sea
Annuities, in the Names of the Trustees, and when the 5000
l.
is completed, Mrs.
Stephens
will discover her Medicines. They will then be made public, and tried in the Hospitals, in the most strict and authentic manner, upon Persons who are to be examined by the Catheter both before and after taking them. She is to have the Interest of the 5000
l.
from the time of discovering her Medicines, in Consideration of the great Profits which she forfeits by discovering them; and the Principal itself, whenever it shall appear to the Trustees, or a Majority of them, that her Medicines are able to dissolve Stones in the Bladder; but if this does not appear, the Principal will be returned to the Contributors. These are the Proposals which appeared most reasonable and practicable to the Gentlemen whom I consulted in this Affair; and I beg Leave to assure the Public, that had I known a better Scheme, I should have embraced it with still more Readiness; but I hope, small Difficulties and Objections will be overlooked, and I shall now endeavour, in the best manner I can, to remove all such considerable ones as I have heard mentioned, giving first some Reasons, which seem to me to render the present Proposals worthy of the Encouragement of all generous Minds.
It has been a prevailing Notion, that Stones of the urinary Passages cannot be dissolved by any Liquid, except such as is too acrimonious for the Passages themselves. But this is plainly a Mistake. For Monsieur
Littre,
a Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at
Paris,
found, that the common Waters of
Paris,
one of which leaves great Incrustations upon the Pipes thro' which it runs, dissolved Stones, even without Heat; and there is an Account of his Experiments in the Memoirs of that Academy for the Year 1720. Dr.
Hales
also wasted several Gravel-stones both in warm and cold Water, and found, that
"those in warm Water dissolved much sooner than the other."
Hoemastaticks,
p. 216. And it appears by the Experiments which I have published, that
Thames
Water,
New River
Water, and
Pump
Water are all able to dissolve a great Variety of Stones, by barely suffering the Stones to lie in them, in a Heat equal to that of Urine in the Bladder. The Stones I made use of were taken from the human Bladder, some of them were exremely hard, they were of different Sizes, the biggest weighing about half an Ounce, and wasted away entirely. There seem therefore to be in Stones themselves some Principles, which have a great Tendency to Putrefaction and Dissolution, since these Effects are produced upon them by mere Water only, either cold or moderately warm. And to say that an acrimonious Liquid is necessary for this Purpose, is a hasty Assertion, contrary to the plainest and most obvious Experiments.
However, this does not come home to the Point. Tho' a Rill of warm Water passing thro' the urinary Passages would indeed waste all the Stones lying in them by Degrees, yet this is what no Art can procure. The great Question is, Whether Urine, which naturally increases Stones, as appears by the daily Experience of those unhappy Persons who are afflicted with the Stone, can be so changed by any Medicines, as to dissolve Stones in the same manner as common Water has been shewn to do. In order to determine this Point, I tried what Effect my own Urine, altered by taking the Medicines, would have upon a Variety of Stones taken from the human Bladder, in a Heat equal to that of Urine in the Bladder; and found, that they were dissolved entirely by lying in it, much in the same manner as the corresponding Pieces in common Water; and at the same time that other corresponding Pieces were increased by lying in common Urine with the same Heat. Afterwards I tried the Urine of another Person who took Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines, and found that it had the same dissolving Power as mine, or rather, as I guessed, one something greater; so that those who take Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines have evidently a Liquid running thro' the urinary Passages, which is a Solvent for Stones in a Heat no greater than that of those Passages. And this is such a Presumption in Favour of Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines, as few others can pretend to from Theory.
It will probably afford some Satisfaction to mention what Alterations the Urine receives from these Medicines. These are a volatile putrid Smell; a turbid and milky Appearance at the time of making; a copious white Sediment, by the falling of which the Urine becomes clear, and which may be dried into a chalky Substance; and an alkaline Quality, as appears by Trials both with the mineral and vegetable Acids, and also with Syrup of Violets. Now it is not at all improbable, that Urine with these Properties should first lose its cementing, accreting Power, and then render the Stones, which lie in it, rotten by Degrees. For common Urine, when it putrefies, dissolves its own Gravel; Wine in corrupting dissolves its own Tartar; and the mineral Waters, as Dr.
Hales
has assured me, take up their own Sediment, after they have been putrefied for some time.
But what will and ought to weigh most with every Body is, that many Persons, who have had all the Symptoms of Stones in the Kidneys and Bladder, have taken these Medicines, voided much Grit, with many plain Scales and Pieces of Stone, have become free from all their Complaints, and continued so. Now tho' it happens, that many Persons who have the Stone void Pieces without taking any Medicines, yet these Pieces are generally few in Number, hard when voided, and the Persons themselves continue to have the same Complaints, because the main Body of the Stone still remains; whereas the greatest Part of those who take Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines regularly, having the true Symptoms of the Stone, void either Grit, or Scales, or Fragments of Stone, or all, in great Quantities, and continue to do so, till they are freed from their Symptoms; that is, as one may reasonably suppose, from the great Quantities voided, till the Stone be quite wasted. This is a constant regular Effect, like those of the principal Medicines used in Physic, all which fail sometimes thro' the Irregularity or particular Constitution of the Patient, and always require a different Dose, a different Time for taking Effect, or a peculiar Accommodation, according to the Nature of the Case. Let these common equitable Allowances be made to Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines, and the Cases of those who have taken them will prove their dissolving Power as strongly, as the Virtue of any other Medicine can be proved by a like Number of Cases, taken with the same Advantages and Disadvantages; and without doubt this dissolving Power in them will be no more questioned some Years hence, than the anodyne Quality of Opium is now.
I published Ten Cases, but there are many more of the same kind, which I have either seen, or been well informed about. Each of these, singly taken, favours the dissolving Power of the Medicines; Three or Four taken together become a strong Presumption; but the united Force of the whole cannot be thought less than a full Proof, by those who know them accurately. It must not be expected, that these Medicines should cure every one who takes them; some cannot take them regularly, some are negligent, and some have their Kidneys in great measure destroyed, or labour under incurable Distempers of another kind; and besides this, some Stones may perhaps be too hard to be affected by them; but if they will dissolve only the greatest Part of the Stones of the Kidneys and Bladder, they are worthy of all Encouragement; and the Evidence for this is as great as can any way be expected. A Medicine which did really dissolve far the greatest Part of the Stones of the Kidneys and Bladder, need not have given greater Proofs of it in the same Number of Trials. Nothing more could be expected from such a Medicine, but that Scales and broken Pieces of Stone of various Shapes and Sizes, should be voided after taking it, in so soft or rotten a State, as to shew plain Marks of Dissolution, till at last the Patient was freed from his Complaints. And this is the general Case here. The Scales and Pieces voided are of all Sizes capable of passing the
Urethra,
every way irregular in their Shapes, for the most part soft, or at least so rotten, as to crumble easily, have their Surfaces white, and often honey-comb'd; and, in short, all Appearances answer to the Experiments made upon the Stones with my Urine, and that of the other Person who took the Medicines. And besides this, there is one Evidence from the Examination by the Catheter, as strong as a single one can well be. Mr.
Holland,
Warder of the Tower, had the Symptoms of a Stone in the Bladder for Three Years, and was examined in
November
last by Mr.
Hawkins;
Governor
Williamson,
Dr.
Sandys,
and myself being present. We all felt a Stone. He took the Medicines, voided many Scales and Pieces of Stone, with an entire one, as large as could well pass, and grew free from all his Complaints, tho' he was driven over the Stones in a Hackney Coach with the utmost Violence. On the 19th of last Month he was examined again by Mr.
Hawkins,
in the Presence of Dr.
Sandys,
Dr.
Shaw,
and Mr.
Roberts,
when a Catheter was introduced three different times, and he was put into different Postures, but no Stone could be found. And there are several others, who having been found to have Stones in the Bladder by the Catheter, take the Medicines, void Pieces, and are expected to be well shortly.
This is in general the Evidence for the dissolving Power of these Medicines, and I cannot see what is to be said against it; but indeed I do not know that any thing is said against it by those who are well informed of the Facts. However, it is not intended to do more by this Evidence, than so far to engage the Attention and Favour of the World, as to raise the 5000
l.
and have the Medicines made public. This is desirable without doubt, because they have plainly done most eminent Service in many terrible Kidney and Bladder Cases, where the common Practice could do nothing, whether they dissolve Stones or no. But Mrs.
Stephens
is so well assured of their dissolving Power, that she puts all upon that Foundation, and particularly upon their dissolving Stones in the Bladder, since this admits of the most unquestionable Evidence; she is content to be entirely without the Reward, if this Fact be not proved to a Majority of the Trustees: She is willing and desirous, that as many Patients as the Trustees shall think fit, be put into any or all of the Hospitals, that they be examined by the Catheter in the strictest and most public manner; and if this Evidence does not answer, she gives up all Title to the Reward, and each Contributor will have his Contribution returned. Now upon these Conditions, especially where there are such unquestionable Judges, a slender Probability seems sufficient Foundation for a Contribution; nay, it would not be very improper, if there were no Probability at all; for this would at least be a means of detecting a Pretence which has imposed upon many Gentlemen of Worth and Knowledge in other Matters; and if there be no Remedy but the Operation, it is better that this be had early, while the Parts are sound, and the Strength entire.
I will now consider the most remarkable Difficulties and Objections which I have heard mentioned.
It is said, That a Trial of these Medicines by the Catheter ought to have been made in the Hospitals before the Contribution was proposed. But there are several Inconveniencies attending this Method of proceeding. First, Mrs.
Stephens
has already more Persons who take her Medicines than she can make up for consistently with her own Health, and it would be very hard to leave any of these, in order to make up for the Hospitals, as every body would think in their own Case. Secondly, When it was proved in this way, that Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines were able to dissolve Stones in the Bladder, there would be a Necessity for another Trial, to know, whether she communicated these Medicines faithfully; whereas, according to the present Proposals, she will have no Reward unless she communicates a Medicine able to dissolve Stones in the Bladder. Thirdly, There are in all Parts of the World many unhappy Persons, either dying or living in Pain, thro' the Cruelty of this Distemper, whose Misery calls for the most speedy Relief; so that if these Medicines should be effectual, their Publication ought not to be deferred a Moment longer than necessary. But it would be a considerable Time before the few Trials to be made of these Medicines, while kept secret, could determine either way; and this was the principal Reason for contriving a Method, which admitted of an immediate Publication. Lastly, The greater Number of Trials made when the Medicines are known to the World, will render the Judgment formed upon them much more satisfactory.
It is said, That there is no Stress to be laid upon what is voided, because any one would do the same upon taking the Medicines, whether he had a Stone or no. But this Objection will vanish upon a due Attention to the Facts. For the Persons who take Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines void Pieces of Stone, as evidently such, as if a Stone was broke in a Mortar into Pieces of all Sizes capable of passing the
Urethra.
As to the Sediment which falls to the Bottom of the Urine, it may perhaps be in great measure the Effect of the Medicines, but there is no Evidence that it does not also contain Stone, because no body cares to take the Medicines without first being apprehensive at least that he has a Stone. On the contrary, it is probable, that some Part of this Sediment is Stone in an impalpable Form; for if the Stone come away in large Pieces, it may much rather be voided in an impalpable Powder from the same Cause, whatever it be; and many of the Stones in my Experiments had a white powdery Substance upon their Surfaces, that might be rubbed off with the Finger; which has also been the Case with some Pieces of Stone that have been voided.
It is said, That these Medicines are nothing more than Soap. That Soap is one Part is very plain, but it is as plain, that there is another Part which is not Soap. Besides, Soap will not dissolve Stones, and if it would, this would be the Invention of Mrs.
Stephens,
for which she deserves the same Reward as for inventing any other Solvent.
It is said, That these Medicines may probably force Grit and Gravel from the Kidneys, and prevent the Growth of Stones, but cannot dissolve Stones in the Bladder. But this Objection will also vanish upon a due Attention to the Facts. Most of the Persons whose Cases I published, had the plainest Symptoms of Stones in the Bladder. And several of these, with many others, have voided Pieces too large to pass the
Ureters
without Pain, and which accordingly have given Pain in passing the
Urethra,
who yet had no previous Pains in the Region of the Kidneys or Ureters. The Medicines are indeed Diuretic, but not more so than many others in common Use, and therefore their good Effects must arise from some other Property.
It is said, That the Medicines are certainly good in Bladder Cases, and have done much Service, but that their dissolving Power may still be questioned. Be it so. However, since they have done much Service in Bladder Cases, where large Pieces of Stone have been voided, as was said in the last Paragraph, these Bladder Cases must have been Stones in the Bladder; and a Medicine which does Service in Stones of the Bladder, by making the Person void Pieces, and grow free from his Complaints at last, bids fair for a Solvent.
It is said, That the Medicines are nauseous, occasion great Pains, and are attended with Danger. That they are very nauseous is certain; the Increase of Pain is also sometimes very considerable, but then it is generally of short Continuance; and they may be, and I believe are, dangerous, without proper Care and due Regulations; yet with these I see no Danger. And the Public may be assured, that I, who have taken them constantly for a Year, cannot but have enquired very strictly into this Matter. The same Objections may be made to many of the best Medicines in daily Use; which would be unanswerable, did not the Care and Skill of Physicians remove them, or the Pain and Danger attending Distempers over-rule them. And in the present Case one may easily suppose, that Physicians will make great Improvements in the manner of giving these Medicines; and if they do not, the Medicines, upon the worst Supposition, are still far preferable either to the Stone, or the Operation of Cutting. I ought however to observe, in Justice to Mrs.
Stephens,
that her manner of proceeding is in general very careful and rational, and that she suffers much from the Negligence and Irregularity of those who take her Medicines; which Physicians know to be often their own Case.
It is said, That many Persons who have the Stone, grow easy without any visible Reason. However, this is very rare; and these Medicines, which are Diuretic, and occasion Pain at first, are very unlikely to be Palliatives, or even to permit a Person to be easy till the Cause be removed.
It is said, That the Sum of 5000
l.
is too large. But by what Rule of Estimation shall one determine this Matter? If we speak strictly, and according to the Obligations which we are all under to consult public Happiness at all Events, I suppose neither Mrs.
Stephens
nor any one else is so generous and disinterested as these Obligations require. However, in common Language, Mrs.
Stephens
has a Right to her own Secret, and may set what Price she pleases upon it, especially if it be no more than what she may reasonably hope to make of it in another way. And the thing itself, if it be a Solvent for the Stone, is surely of more Importance to Mankind than 5000
l.
can be of to the Contributors.
It is said, That this will encourage Quacks. I believe not. There are few Quacks who will venture to appeal to such Judges, and to such a Method of Examination.
It is said, That the most eminent Gentlemen of the Faculty ought to have been made Judges. This is very true; and one of the first Steps which I took was, to desire those to whom I had the Honour to be best known, to become Judges in the Affair; but they declined it. However, I beg of them once more to attend to the Facts; and, if they please, to contribute, because this would soon bring the Matter to a Trial. And I need not say, that their Judgment will have the greatest Weight as well with the Trustees, as with every body else.
It is said, That I ought to have published all the Failures and ill Accidents as well as the Ten Cases, which favour the dissolving Power of the Medicines. But I have met with nothing of this kind sufficient to render the Medicines suspected either of being ineffectual or pernicious. And the full History of these Medicines, with all their Uses, Defects and Cautions, is more than I have had Opportunity to obtain, but may easily be procured from the Trials which will be made of them in the Hospitals and other Places before the Reward be assigned. I have omitted many more Cases in Favour of the Medicines than I have given, and it is a sufficient Reason for a farther Trial of them, that so many Persons have received Benefit from them, and so few Harm.
It is said, That I myself have received no Benefit. My Case is in short this: I have the Symptoms of a Stone or Gravel in both Kidneys, and of a Stone in the Bladder, having Pain in both Sides now and then; Pain at the Neck of the Bladder, in the
Urethra
and
Glans;
Pain and Difficulty in making Water; a sudden Stoppage frequently; and I make bloody Water upon Motion. I have been examined twice, but no Stone could be found. However, since my taking these Medicines I have voided, and do still void, little angular Bits of Stone very frequently; and in so soft a State as to crumble easily. And as I had no considerable Pain before I began the Medicines, except upon Motion, so I still am easy while at Rest. The Medicines agree extremely well with my general Health; and as it seems to me, both that I have a Quantity of Stone somewhere in the Passages, and also that this is coming away gradually, tho' very slowly, I go on with the Medicines, hoping that they will at last be effectual, and not knowing what else to do. And it would be very unreasonable in me to conceal a Medicine of great Importance to Mankind, because I myself have as yet received no Benefit from it.
I shall conclude with begging the Favour of all those who have a compassionate Sense of the Misery of others, to be so good as to pay in their Contributions of themselves, and without Delay. This may be done in the Country by sending them to the Postmaster of any neighbouring Town, who will remit them, with the Names of each Contributor, to Mr.
Drummond.
It may be done in
London,
by sending a Servant to Mr.
Drummond
's at
Charing-cross;
and Care will be taken to have Lists of the Contributors printed from time to time, for the Satisfaction of the Public. There is now upwards of 900
l.
paid in, and in a great Variety of Sums, from 5
s.
to 100
l.
June 5, 1738.
D. HARTLEY.
P.S.
Mr.
Binford,
whose Case is related
No. 2.
in a Pamphlet intitled,
Ten Cases of Persons who have taken Mrs.
Stephens
's Medicines,
&c. and who was found to have a large Stone in the Bladder, by Mr.
Patch,
a Surgeon at
Exeter,
upon Examination with the Finger in the
Anus,
has continued perfectly well ever since he left off the Medicines; and has been examined again by the same Gentleman in the same Manner, but no Stone could be found.