Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said it was revealed to him that the King’s hand would cure him: and at the first coming of King Charles II. into St. James’s Park, he kissed the King’s hand and rubbed his nose with it; which disturbed the King, but cured him [Evans].
It does seem a little forward on a first acquaintance without even an “excuse me,” but the legend of the curative powers of the royal touch was a strong one and no doubt Charles felt a certain amount of need to propitiate his new subjects.
John Corry’s The detector of quackery : or, Analyser of medical, philosophical, political, dramatic, and literary imposture is a lighthearted examination of the faux in medicine. Corry was already the author of A satirical view of London at the commencement of the nineteenth century, a humorous look at the capital at the beginning of a new century.
Corry cites Samuel Johnson in his “Advertisement” before the text: “Cheats can seldom last long against laughter” and Corry’s text is still amusing, although at this point it may be just as much for what he gets wrong — making jokes about oxygen being the “philosopher’s stone” — as what he gets right — debunking Mesmer.
Click through the pages below or follow this link to read Corry’s The detector of quackery.