A Short Narrative of an Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbets, Perform'd by Mr. John Howard Surgeon At Guilford

Part 1

The Wise men of Godliman in Consultation]

They held their Talents most Adroit For any Mystical Exploit

A The Dancing Master or Præternatural Anatomist. B An Occult Philosopher searching into the Depth of things. C The Sooterkin Doctor Astonish’d. D The Guilford Rabbet Man Midwife. E The Rabbet getter. F The Lady in the straw. G The Nurse or Rabbet Dresser.

A SHORT NARRATIVE Of an Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbets,

Perform’d by Mr. JOHN HOWARD Surgeon at Guilford.

Published by Mr. St. Andrè Surgeon and Anatomist to his Majesty.

The SECOND EDITION.

LONDON, Printed for JOHN CLARKE, at the Bible under the Royal-Exchange. MDCCXXVII.

The Account of the Delivery of the eighteenth Rabbet, shall be Published by way of Appendix to this Account.

A Short Narrative of an Extraordinary Delivery, &c.

Whatever may be the Fate of this Account, I think my self indispensably obliged to relate the Facts that I saw, and transacted my self, as also the Reasons which first induced me to enquire into the Truth of such an Extraordinary Event; but I here declare that I take on me no other Part of this Narration, than that in which I was actually concerned.

As Mr. Howard himself intends shortly to publish the whole Account, and prove every Circumstance of it, by such Evidences as will put this Matter out of all possibility of Doubt, I must refer to him for several Particulars here omitted.

And as it will be impossible to judge impartially of this Fact, till the Evidences abovemention’d are produced, it cannot be doubted but all such Persons as are not governed by Prejudice, or some worse Motive, will suspend their Judgment till these Facts come to their Knowledge by a more certain way, than by flying Reports and Conjectures.

The first Intelligence I received of this Matter, was on the 5th Instant, when I saw a very particular Account of a Woman living at Godlyman lately delivered of five Rabbets by Mr. John Howard, Surgeon at Guilford in Surrey, a Man of known Probity, Character, and Capacity in his Profession, who has practis’d Midwifery for above these thirty Years.

This Account was again confirmed by two Letters from the said Mr. Howard, the first dated Nov. the 6th, 4 a Clock in the Afternoon; the Substance of which is, That from the 4th Instant to the 6th he had deliver’d the Woman of three more Rabbets; that the last of them had leap’d in her Belly, for the space of eighteen Hours, before it dy’d, and that the Moment it was taken away, another was perceiv’d to struggle for Birth.

The second is dated Nov. the ninth, and is here transcribed verbatim, viz.

SIR,

Since I wrote to you, I have taken or deliver’d the poor Woman of three more Rabbets, all three half grown, one of them a dunn Rabbet; the last leap’d twenty three Hours in the Uterus before it dy’d. As soon as the eleventh Rabbet was taken away, up leap’d the twelfth Rabbet, which is now leaping. If you have any curious Person that is pleased to come Post, may see another leap in her Uterus, and shall take it from her if he pleases; which will be a great Satisfaction to the Curious: If she had been with Child, she has but ten Days more to go, so I do not know how many Rabbets may be behind; I have brought the Woman to Guilford for better Convenience.

I am, SIR,

Your humble Servant,

JOHN HOWARD.

If you send a Person, let him bring a Letter from you.

This Account was taken the 4th Instant at Guilford by Mr. Davenant.

The Letters were directed to Mr. Davenant.

These Letters, with others to Persons of Distinction in Town, which all agreed with the above-mentioned, were sufficient to make me desirous of being convinced personally of a Fact of which there was no Instance in Nature. Accordingly on the 15th Instant, I attended the Honourable Mr. Molyneux, Secretary to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who was inclin’d to enquire into the Truth of this extraordinary Case, and desir’d me to go with him to Guilford: We arrived there at about half an hour after two in the Afternoon. We sent to Mr. Howard, who came to us immediately, and told us that the Woman was actually in Labour of the fifteenth Rabbet. We had not been at his House long, before the Nurse who attends the Woman came to call Mr. Howard to her, she being then in one of her labour Pains.

She was lodged over against Mr. Howard’s House, we found her dress’d in her Stays, sitting on the Bed-side with several Women near her. I immediately examined her, and not finding the Parts prepared for her Labour, I waited for the coming on of fresh Pains, which hapned in three or four minutes, at which time I deliver’d her of the entire Trunk, strip’d of its Skin, of a Rabbet of about four Months growth, in which the Heart and Lungs were contained with the Diaphragm entire. I instantly cut off a piece of them, and tried them in Water; they seemed but just specifically lighter than it, and Mr. Molyneux pressing them to the Bottom they rose again very slowly; the Heart was very large, and its Foramen Ovale entirely open; the Lungs were remarkably small, and of a much darker Colour than commonly the Lungs are of such Rabbets, who have breathed for some time. No Person but my self touch’d her, from the first time that I had examined her, to the time of her being deliver’d by me: Her Pains were pretty smart, and lasted for some Minutes; they went off the Moment she was deliver’d, and she seem’d chearful and easy; walked by herself from the Bed-side to the Fire, and sat on a Chair, where I examined her; and found, that in the Course of the Fallopian Tubes, there were some Inequalities, but more sensibly on the right side of her Belly; which made me conjecture that the Rabbets were bred in those Tubes, and only came into the Uterus, when they gave her those Agitations, which, according to the account of Mr. Howard and of several other Persons, were sensibly felt many Hours before their Exclusion.

As there was no Blood nor Water that issued from the Vagina, after I had delivered her, I again examined that Part, and found it not in the least inflamed or lacerated.

Upon examining her Breasts, I found Milk in one of them, but only a little yellowish Serum in the other.

Part 2

Her Pulse was regular, but somewhat low, her Tongue florid; and upon asking for her Water, those about her answered, she made very little, and that they had not saved any.

She informed us, that in the Intervals of her Labour-Pains she was tolerably easy, and had no inclination for any sort of Food but Beef.

About two Hours after we had left her, they came again to call Mr. Howard, she being at that Time in violent Labour-Pains; but he and my self were gone to see the Mayor, who was then ill. The Nurse that attended her had delivered her, before our return, of the lower Part of a Male Rabbet, which we found totally with the Trunk, which I had before extracted: This was also strip’d of its Skin, and compleatly perfect in all its Parts, but more manifestly so in those of Generation.

In the Rectum of this Animal, which remain’d affix’d to the Body, we found five or six Pellets, much of the same Colour and Consistence as the common Dung of a Rabbet, little Bodies, like dried Fragments, being matted together with a mucous Matter. The like was observed in some other Parts of those Rabbets, which had come away before. In the other Bowels there was a dirty colour’d Mucus, of the Nature of that which is constantly found in the Bowels of all fœtus Animals, and which in those that void their Excrements in Pellets, is commonly hard and dry; but the Matter in the Guts of the first Animal was of an entire different Kind, Colour and Substance from any of the rest, this being like little Filaments of an Animal Substance. In the Middle of the Gut Ilium of this Creature, I found a very slender, brittle, white Body, of the Length of half an Inch, which in Shape was like a very small Fish-bones.

Between six and seven the same Evening we again visited her; we had not been there long, before she fell into violent Labour-Pains, insomuch that four or five Persons cou’d hardly confine her to an Arm-Chair: As soon as the Violence of the first Pain was somewhat abated, I examined her as before, and found the Vagina perfectly clear; and the Orifice of the Uterus so far closed, as not to admit of the little Finger, I constantly stood before her, nor did any Person whatsoever touch her, during that Time. After three or four very strong Pains, that lasted several Minutes, I delivered her of the Skin of the above-said Rabbet, rolled and squeezed up like a Ball, without the least Moisture or Blood about it; upon which she recovered of her Pain.

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