England under the house of Hanover : its history and condition during the reigns of the three Georges . e for almost all diseases. Hewrites to Sir Horace Mann, in October, 1764, Jamesspowder is my panacea, that is, it always shall be, for,thank God, I am not apt to have occasion for medi-cines; but I have such faith in these powders, that Ibelieve I should take it if the house were on Dr. Jamess opponents found that they couldnot hinder the sale of his powders, they turned roundand said that he was not the inventor, but that he hadstolen the recipe from a man named Baker, who hadit o
England under the house of Hanover : its history and condition during the reigns of the three Georges . e for almost all diseases. Hewrites to Sir Horace Mann, in October, 1764, Jamesspowder is my panacea, that is, it always shall be, for,thank God, I am not apt to have occasion for medi-cines; but I have such faith in these powders, that Ibelieve I should take it if the house were on Dr. Jamess opponents found that they couldnot hinder the sale of his powders, they turned roundand said that he was not the inventor, but that he hadstolen the recipe from a man named Baker, who hadit of a German Baron Schwanberg. In a caricaturepublished against him in 1754, entitled A Reply forthe present to the unknownAuthor of Villany Detect-ed, the Doctor is repre-sented stepping from hiscarriage to act the part ofa highwayman towards theright cla^imant to the se-cret, who is administeringcharity to a poor man, andreceiving his blessing inreturn. Dr. James takesthe opportunity of steal-ing the powders from hispocket (some of the packetsfalling to the ground), and at the same time holds a Y 2. THE MEDICAL HIGHWAYMAN. 324 THE BOTTLE-CONJURER. [l749. dagger to strike him, while he says, aside, By whichI keep my chariot, in luxury live, and think of nohereafter. The ghost of a man (perhaps the Germanbaron) rises from the ground beside him, and exclaims, Thou perjured villain ! thou hast robbed my friend ofthe fever-powders! The easy credulity and superstition of the Englishpeople at this period, cherished and increased by thepreaching and writings of a number of fanatical sec-tarians, was exhibited in maiiy other circumstancesbesides their belief in quack medicines, and madethem the dupes of several practical jokes, and inten-tional or involuntary impositions. The ridiculous im-posture of the rabbit-woman of Godalming, which hadbeen favoured by some members of the medical pro-fession, had afforded a striking instance of nationalcredulity in the earlier part of the century. T
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