LETTER XI. ON INOCULATION. IT T is inadvertently affirm'd in the Christian Countries of Europe, that the English are Fools and Madmen. Fools, because they give their Children the Smallpox to prevent their catching it; and Madmen, because they wantonly communicate a certain and dreadful Distemper to their Children, merely to prevent an uncertain evil. The English, on the other side, call the reft of the Europeans cowardly and unnatural. Cowardly, becaufe they are afraid of putting their Children to a little Pain; unnatural, because they expose them to die one time or other of the Small-pox. But that the reader may be able to judge, whether the English, or thofe who differ from them in opinion, are in the right, here follows the Hiftory of the fam'd Inoculation, which is mention'd with fo much dread in France. THE THE Circaffian women have, from time immemorial, communicated the Small-pox to their children, when not above fix months old, by making an incifion in the arm; and by putting into this incifion a pustle, taken carefully from the body of another child, this puftle produces the fame effect in the arm it is laid in, as yeft in a piece of dough: It ferments, and diffuses through the whole mafs of blood, the qualities with which it is impregnated. The puftles of the child, in whom the artificial Small-pox has been thus inoculated, are employed to communicate the fame diftemper to others. There is an almoft perpetual circulation of it in Circaffia; and when unhappily the Small-pox has quite left the country, the inhabitants of it are in as great trouble and perplexity, as other nations when their harveft has fallen fhort. THE circumftance that introduc'd a cuftom in Circaffia, which appears fo fingular to others, is nevertheless a caufe common to all nations, I mean maternal tenderness and interest. THE Circaffians are poor, and their daughters are beautiful; and indeed 'tis in them they chiefly trade. They furnish with beauties the Seraglios of the Turki Sultan, of the Perfian Sophy, and of all thofe who are wealthy enough to purchase and maintain fuch precious merchandize. Thefe maidens maidens are very honourably and virtuoufly inftructed to fondle and carefs men; are taught dances of a very polite and effeminate kind; and how to heighten, by the most voluptuous artifices, the pleasures of their disdainful mafters for whom they are defign'd. These unhappy creatures repeat their leffon to their mothers, in the fame manner as little girls among us repeat their catechifm, without understanding one word they say. Now it often happened, that after a father and mother had taken the utmost care of the education of their children, they were fruftrated of all their hopes in an inftant. The Small-pox getting into the family, one daughter died of it, another loft an eye, a third had a great nose at her recovery, and the unhappy parents were completely ruin'd. Even frequently, when the Small-pox became epidemical, trade was fufpended for feveral years, which thin'd very confiderably the Seraglios of Perfia and Turkey. A TRADING nation is always watchful over its own interefts, and grafps at every discovery that may be of advantage to its commerce. The Circaffians obferv'd, that fcarce one perfon in a thousand was ever attack'd by a Small-pox of a violent kind. That fome indeed had this diftemper very favourably three or four times, but never twice. twice fo as to prove fatal; in a word, that no one ever had it in a violent degree twice in his life. They obferv'd farther, that when the Small-pox is of the milder fort, and the puftles have only a tender, delicate skin to break thro', they never leave the least fcar in the face. From these natural obfervations they concluded, that in cafe an infant of fix months, or a year old, should have a milder Sort of Small-pox, he wou'd not die of it, wou'd not be mark'd, nor be ever afflicted with it again. In order therefore to preferve the life and beauty of their children, the only thing remaining was, to give them the Small-pox in their infant years. This they did, by inoculating, in the body of a child, puftle taken from the most regular, and at the fame time the most favourable fort of Small-pox that could be procur'd. THE experiment cou'd not poffibly fail. The Turks, who are people of good fenfe, foon adapted this cuftom, infomuch, that at this time there is not a Baffa in Conftantinople, but communicates the Small-pox to his children of both fexes, immediately upon their being wean'd. SOME pretend, that the Circafians borrow'd this cuftom anciently from the Arabians; but we fhall leave the clearing up of this point of hiftory to fome learned Benedictine, who will not fail to compile a great many many folio's on this fubject, with the feveral proofs or authorities. All I have to fay upon it is, that in the beginning of the reign of king George, the firft, the lady Wortley Mountague, a woman of as fine a genius, and endu'd with as great a strength of mind as any of her sex in the British kingdoms, being with her husband, who was ambaffador at the Porte, made no fcruple to communicate the Small-pox to an infant of which fhe was deliver'd in Conftantinople. The chaplain reprefented to his lady, but to no purpose, that this was an unchristian operation, and therefore that it could fucceed with none but infidels. However, it had the moft happy effect upon the fon of the lady Wortley Mountague, who, at her return to England, communicated the experiment to the princess of Wales, now queen of England. It must be confefs'd that this princess, abstracted from her crown and titles, was born to encourage the whole circie of arts, and to do good to mankind. She appears as an amiable philofopher on the throne, having never let flip one opportunity of improving the great talents fhe receiv'd from nature,. nor of exerting her beneficence. 'Tis fhe, who being inform'd that a daughter of Milton was living, but in miferable circumftances, immediately fent her a confiderable prefent. 'Tis fhe who protects the learned father |