but extreme weakness of the fingers; we advised her wearing rings, made for the purpose, the heaviest being placed on the little finger; as the strength of the fingers returned, the rings were made heavier this plan was continued during two months, and the fingers not only lost their stiffness, but acquired extraordinary agility,

Young ladies suffering from muscular debility, who have been some time recovering from an illness, and feel scarcely able to place their fingers on the notes of the piano-forte, may derive great benefit from the use of these rings.

Madame B. observing the advantages to be derived from a knowledge of the development of muscular strength, and applying this knowledge to the piano-forte, played with weights on the left hand, till it acquired an equal degree of strength with the right, then with unequal weights on both hands, and afterwards with weights precisely similar. This gymnastic of the fingers should be recommended by music masters, who are really anxious for the progress of their scholars.

The flexion and contraction of the fingers is in the domain of surgery, and may be cured by different means.

Deformities of the Inferior Limbs.

THE inferior limbs are stronger and more solid than the superior ones, yet they are more often

liable to deformities. The diathesis we have studied have great influence on the bones; the femurs are often deformed in weak children; they are curved, the knees closed together, so that the thighs appear shorter than in the normal state: this disposition appears principally after birth, during dentition, sometimes before infants walk, more often when anxious nurses put them on their feet too early. Parents must wait till their children have acquired sufficient strength to allow them to stand alone. Very often nurses or servants cause a deformity of the legs, by carrying children too near themselves, and pressing their tender limbs.

A difference exists between children, according to their station in life and their constitution. scrofulous or ricketty children are pale, their flesh is not firm, their joints are enlarged, or appear so. Curvatures sometimes exist in the bones of the thigh as well as in those of the leg; and while the former are difficult to cure, even by employing the most rational means, the latter merely require a little enlightened care.

Whatever may be the curve of the bones of the legs, there is always a weakness of the muscles, which are thin; the ligaments also are weakened, the articulations looser. When a curvature begins, it has a tendency to increase, because the muscles of one part are retracted, and the antagonist lengthened, and lose their

strength; this fact shews the advantage of early attendance.

The knees are very often deviated from their natural state; they are generally so in every deviation of the thigh, or of the leg; sometimes deviations of the knees exist alone. Children in running, feel their knees knock together, and complain of uneasiness in their limbs.

These deviations generally appear in early infancy, when children try to stand, yet are too weak to walk, or support the weight of their body. It may often be observed when weak children are put on the ground, and induced to walk, their feet are very much separated one from the other, whilst their knees are close together, as if to lend each other mutual support. This disposition is principally common to young and weak children, but is found also among the convalescent. Weakness of the joints is undoubtedly caused by bodily weakness, and local means, as well as general treatment, should be applied to cure it.

Some young ladies have the articulations of the feet and legs so loose that they walk with difficulty, and are unable to dance. In these cases gymnastic and dancing might be more injurious than useful; and parents must call for the advice of a physician rather than the attendance of a dancing-master,

After having drawn a rapid sketch of the deformities of the legs, we must now speak of

those of the feet, which are not less common, and distress the deformed the more, as they are continually exposed to the public eye.

For the different cures of the bones of the legs, which depend on the bad physical education of nurses, it is sufficient to draw the at tention of parents to this subject, and to suggest preventive means.

CHAP. XIII.

Club Feet.

ONE of the finest geniuses Great Britain has produced was afflicted with a club foot, and preserved all his life a bitterness of feeling that he could not overcome.

Though to a heart all love,-what could not love me
In turn, because of this vile crooked clog,
Which makes me lonely."

This deformity is either

(Deformed Transformed.)

congenital or acci

dental, but in both cases it is curable; the foot is turned over and rests on the ground, or any other part but the sole; it takes various shapes, and is known by different names. The ancients used the term vari to express deviations of the feet when they were turned inwardly, and when turned outwardly, the deviations were known by the name of valgi; and pedesequini were those whose toes alone rested on the ground; each of these species comprise several varieties, nearly always complicated by different affections.

The causes of club feet before birth are more or less hypothetic; notwithstanding the great medical authorities who have emitted their opinions on this subject, it is not in our power to prevent these deformities. There is a better knowledge