PREFACE.

If this work should be fortunate enough to attract attention at home In this context, "at home" refers to Great Britain, as the author is writing from colonial India., I hope that criticism will be focused primarily on a careful examination of the facts presented and their practical application to the improvement of surgery and medicine.

What I now offer to the public is the result of only eight months' practice of mesmerism A precursor to modern hypnotism, used at the time as a form of anesthesia. in a rural charity hospital. However, this has been enough to demonstrate the remarkable and highly beneficial influence that mesmerism exerts over the physical health of the people of Bengal. It shows that painless surgical operations and other medical advantages are their natural birthright, of which I hope they will no longer be deprived.

Duty calls me to another and more extensive field of work, as the Civil Surgeons Medical officers employed by the East India Company to provide medical services to the civilian population and administration. have been ordered to join the Army of the Sutlej A British military force organized for the First Anglo-Sikh War in the Punjab region (1845–1846).. In this new role, I hope to further explore this curious and interesting subject in all its practical aspects and to live long enough to share my experience with the public.

Hooghly, February 1st, 1846.